














\V '^r 












"%■ 










& ^ 










V </> 






W 



: 



<P, & 



.0 C' 






V> ^ 



* * o . > 




































* 


















*u. V 



-7% 





















V 







</> .\ 





















^ v^ N 



# ■* 
























o ' ~ J A * 







^ 



E E P L Y 



TO THE 



"STATEMENT OF THE TRUSTEES" 



OF THE 



DUDLEY OBSERVATORY. 



BY 



BENJ. APTHORP GOULD, Jr. 



23806 



ALBANY: 

PRINTED BY CHARLES VAN BENTHUYSEN. 
1859. 




jo Dm 



PREFACE. 



The length of the present Reply may, in many cases, prevent those from 
reading it, who have read the attack to which it is an answer. Yet it has 
been impossible to unite brevity with a complete refutation of the 
diverse calumnies that have been heaped upon me with such ingenious 
method and adroit complication. The time which has elapsed during its 
preparation has occasioned deep regret ; but it is no matter of surprise to 
those who are aware that my regular duties have gone forward meanwhile, 
and, until the present month, without interruption. 

The manuscript of this book was nearly complete, and a considerable por- 
tion of it was in type, when, on the 3d of January, I was driven from my 
dwelling by a hired band of rioters, acting without form or pretence of 
law, — a mere brute force, which left me no other choice than a passive 
endurance of the high-handed outrage, or an employment of similar agencies 
for protection in my position. The confusion into which my papers, books 
and affairs were thrown, the many and serious domestic and personal 
embarrassments connected with this sudden expulsion in the midst of an 
inclement season, and the many means of annoyance since devised and 
attempted by Mr. Olcott, have combined to delay the volume about a 
month, and have entailed the necessity of re-writing some portions of it. 

No other apology for its lateness will be deemed necessary when I have 
mentioned that during the whole period, — from my removal to the Observa- 
tory in February, 1858, until my forcible expulsion by Mr. Olcott's 
marauding party during the present month, — the independent official work 
upon which my subsistence depends was regularly prosecuted, although 
more than enough to consume all the working hours of a man who consults 
the laws of health ; that the Astronomical Journal, under my charge, has 
been kept up, though unfortunatety at greater intervals between the suc- 
cessive numbers than would have been the case had my means and strength 
been otherwise unimpaired; that I have maintained all the duties entailed 
by an extensive and laborious correspondence at home and abroad; that 
the Observatory work, of itself enough to exhaust one's own energies, 
has been industriously and conscientiously prosecuted, and performed, too, 
amid constant interruptions from the necessity of acting, personally or by 



IV PREFACE. 

deputy, as exhibitor of the establishment during the whole period, — this 
service demanding for many months the whole time of one person during 
the hours of daylight. To all this I must add that, openly since May 
22, and covertly prior to that time, no effort of Messrs. Olcott and 
Armsby has been spared to annoy and persecute me ; — the public press 
teeming with calumnies and invective, instigated by them, leveled not only 
at me, but at every man who has had the spirit or the justice to take 
ground publicly in my defence, and accompanied by the ceaseless endeavor 
to excite obloquy and popular odium against every public work in the 
guidance of which any of my supporters have any part. It has been in 
the midst of the ceaseless labors, the physical exhaustion, and the unpar- 
alleled annoyances here indicated, that this Reply has been prf » ]i 1. 

Let no man say this is a private and personal quarrel ; lat the 

matter is one with which he has no concern. If I am " crushed" in this 
controversy, it will be because I am not heard in my own defence. If I 
am crushed, then any man in the community may to-morrow be over- 
whelmed and borne down by a similar torrent of falsehood and undeserved 
obloquy. Hodie mihi, eras tibi. This "quarrel," fastened upon me, 
concerns every good man, every man who has a character to lose. It will 
be seen to concern the intellectual progress of our country ; to concern 
every scientific establishment in the land. 

I know not what may be the next movement of my malignant and untir- 
ing persecutors. Since I was driven from the Observatory, they have not 
hesitated to publish and circulate the false charge that the buildings were 
found in a state of disorder, and the costly instrument exposed to the 
weather and already seriously damaged. They have actually commenced 
a legal prosecution upon the false pretence that the property of the insti- 
tution had suffered damage while in my keeping ; an accusation which I 
am fortunately able to prove as totally and maliciously false as any one of 
those related in the present volume. New engines of calumny and torture 
will doubtless be found by my assailants. But I think myself entitled, 
after the full expositions of these pages, to call upon my fellow-citizens 
for protection against new assaults, of the savage nature of those to which 
I have already been subjected. God knows I have borne enough at the 
hands of these wicked men, whose characters will be sufficiently evident 
from the following pages. By issuing their so-called * Statement ' in 
unprecedented numbers, and by giving it a circulation almost unequaled 
in extent, their command of money has enabled them to imprint their 
slanders and misrepresentations on the very history of the times. It is 
of course impossible for me to publish this, my defence, in such an edition, 
or to disseminate it over such a field. But I can and will place it upon 
record, that my Accusers may stand exposed in their true colors to all who 
read it in this and future years, and that all their calumnies, now and 
hereafter, may meet with never-failing disbelief. 



PREFACE. V 

My only object in life is, and has been, to serve my country and the 
world, by devoting whatever abilities my Maker has given me, to the study 
and pursuance of one of the noblest subjects of human research. With 
a character heretofore unimpeached, and a course of conduct which shrinks 
from no investigation, I solemnly claim, upon every principle of justice 
and humanity, that, should I disregard future slanders, my silence shall 
not be misconstrued ; and that my life shall not hereafter be spent in the 
wretched labor of defending myself against new attacks of these men, who, 
without one excuse for their malice, are determined upon my ruin, and 
who insist upon making the public a party to the sacrifice. 

BENJ. APTHORP GOULD, Jr. 
Albany, 1859, January 27. 



CONTENTS. 



.PART I. GENERAL REPLY. 

I. Preliminary, 1 

II. Mr. Olcott and his coadjutors in these attacks, 9 

III. Nature of the attacks, 20 

IV. Observatory relations and history prior to the year 1858, . 36 
V. Observatory relations and history during the year 1858, . 70 

VI. Principal accusations of Mr. Olcott and his partizans. . . . 

1. General Considerations, 94 

2. Pretexts — Renewal of Disproved Accusations, ... 99 

3. Studied Insults to the Trustees, 101 

4. Unnecessary Delay — Wasteful Expenditures, . . . 104 

5. Nonfulfilnient of Promises, 110 

6. Incompetency and Peculation, 116 

7. The Meridian Circle, 125 

8. The Tabulating Engine, 137 

9. The Transit Instrument, 142 

10. The Longitude, 145 

11. The Heliometer, 148 

12. Clocks and Time-Signals 151 

13. The Catalogue, 157 

14. Other Observatory Work 159 

15. Side Issues, . 161 

VII. Summary, 163 

PART II. DETAILED REFUTATION, ... 175 

Appendix. 

A. First Letter of the Scientific Council, 1856, Aug. 8, .... 351 

B. Mrs. Dudley's letter, read at the Inauguration, 351 

C. Mrs. Dudley's letter to the Council, 1858, June 9, . . . . 352 

D. Reply of the Council to Mrs. Dudley, 352 

E. Reply of the Majority to the charge of garbling, 354 

F. Letter from Mr. Gavit, 1858, Oct. 2, 354 

G. Letter from Mr. Spencer, 1858, Nov. 2 355 

H. Address to Donors and Friends of the Observatory, 1859, Jan. 5, 357 



PART FIRST. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY. 

Throughout the series of violent and almost unparalleled 
attacks of which I have for several months been the object, and 
in the course of which my moral, intellectual and social char- 
acter have been assailed with a bitterness and persistence such 
as are rarely seen, it has been my endeavor to preserve a be- 
coming silence, until a period should arrive when no man of 
spirit could doubt that it was my duty to present my own story 
to the public. In the mean time taste, judgement, and inclina- 
tion have alike prompted me to remain silent. Priceless as his 
good name is to one who neither has nor seeks other posses . 
sions, I could not enter the lists to rebut such charges, and 
coming from such accusers, as those published by Mr. Olcott in 
July. The event proved this faith and this judgement to have 
been correct, — and the very enormity of the attack tended to 
render it harmless. The quick sympathy of my colleagues, 
Professors Henry, Bache and Peirce was aroused ; and— though 
their sense of duty led them to investigate the charges against 
me with the fearless impartiality, which I courted, — the simple 
examination of the case excited their indignation to such an 
extent that the fulfilment of their duties as judges rendered 
them at once champions and defenders. The citizens of 
Albany, in a crowded public meeting, expressed their sympa- 
thy, their confidence, and their regard, in words and resolves, 
the memory of which has sustained and supported me, and for 
which I may not attempt to speak my gratitude. 

Strange as it may seem, the reaction was greater than the 
action, and I soon became conscious that the assault had but 
added to the number of my friends and supporters. 

Seven weeks later, on the 21st day of August, appeared a 
pamphlet entitled, " The Dudley Observatory and the Scientific 



2 

Council — Statement of the Trustees." It is a book of 173 
pages, — mostly drawn up, and entirely revised and prepared 
for the press, by the cunning hand of a sharp lawyer. It is 
a laborious effort to take from me all that an honest man 
most values on earth, all that renders life worth possessing, all 
that might keep my memory fragrant when I live no longer. 

Though springing from the same source as the first attack 
its character is totally different. It bears to it the same rela- 
tion that the stiletto bears to the bludgeon. It is a skilfully 
fashioned weapon, wrought with cunning art, to accomplish by 
ingenious legerdemain what could not be attained by manly 
prowess. Had it been prepared by an unscrupulous trickster, 
ready to sacrifice not only another's good name, but even his 
own, for gain, its character would not have been very different 
from what it is. It was not written by the man who penned the 
first attack, but by his agent. What his pen could not prepare, 
his purse has procured ; — namely, an impeachment of my char- 
acter and course, capable of finding credence with honest, sin- 
cere men. 

The language which I have used is strong; but could the 
naked truth be placed, in all its simplicity, before those who 
have read this savage attack, I believe that no power on earth 
could restrain the storm of indignation which it would arouse. 
Only after the lapse of an entire month did the atrocity of 
its policy dawn upon me. Its strength is in its boldness 
and enormity. What reasonable man will believe, amid such 
an avalanche of accusations, that all of them are destitute of 
truth ? The very fact of a denial of all would operate to the 
disadvantage of the defendant. Among such a multitude of 
missiles, some at least must take effect. And what reasonable 
man would suppose for an instant that nine apparently respon- 
sible persons could be found, who would venture publicly to 
bring or sanction such grave and flagrant charges, when each 
and every charge was not merely false, but susceptible of full 
and entire refutation. Against this difficulty it is my lot to 
contend ; and in addition to all these, there is yet another ob- 
stacle, perhaps a greater one, — that few will be found, the con- 



stitution of whose mind permits them readily to believe that 
an attack of such violence, whether warranted or not, has not 
been incurred by some serious mis-step ; or, in short, that a con. 
test can exist, for which the aggressor has not some provocation- 

The " Statement of- the Trustees 11 has placed me in the posi- 
tion of defendant in such a case as I have described. And in 
order that the destruction of my character may be complete, 
and the impeachment penetrate to recesses where no vindication 
could reach ; the huge edition of twenty-five thousand copies has 
been printed and distributed throughout the land. All the 
lists of editors, of bankers, of collegiate and academic pro- 
fessors, of clergymen, of physicians,, of literary and scientific 
societies, have been conned over for addresses, to which copies 
of this book might be sent. And — that all reply or vindication 
by friends, or honest men acquainted with the truth, may so far 
as possible be cut off, — a simultaneous attack is organized upon 
the friends who defended me before ; and writers are employed 
to traduce and to denounce through the public press those 
gentlemen who have honored and comforted me with their 
approbation, and with public expression of their sympathy. 

In now breaking through the long-continued silence which I 
have preserved hitherto, my purpose is two-fold : first, to present 
as concisely as possible, an account of my connection with the 
Dudley Observatory, and of the quarrel fastened upon me by 
Mr. Olcott; and secondly, to reply to the "Statement" of the 
Nine Trustees, both in general and in detail. In this latter 
process, it will of course be necessary for me to confute the 
trivial as well as the serious allegations of my accusers, and 
thus to expend time, strength and space upon the discussion of 
matters entirely foreign to the main points, and which seem 
indeed to have been introduced only for the purpose of compli- 
cation and confusion. But the disadvantages, which would arise 
from leaving a single charge or imputation unexamined, appear 
likely to be under the circumstances so much greater than those 
which will spring from giving time and place to comparatively 
unimportant, or even absurdly insignificant matters, that there 
seems little room for hesitation. 



My connection with the Dudley Observatory began on the 
3d day of September, 1855, on which day, the Board of Trustees 
elected, or professed to elect, a " Scientific Council," consisting 
of Professors Henry, Bache, Peirce and myself. 

My relations as a member of the Scientific Council were 
declared severed on the 26th June, 1858, by a resolution which 
was passed by a majority of nine to four, two of the Trustees 
being absent from the meeting. But the majority have never, 
in terms, repealed the vote ratifying the compact by which the 
Observatory was placed in my charge. 

A conditional promise of Prof. Bache, to aid incidentally 
through the loan of an instrument, and through an observer from 
the Coast Survey, and promises by Prof. Peirce and myself, to 
aid with our best efforts and counsel, preceded our official con- 
nection with the Observatory by about ten days. 

In the same month, September, 1855, I embarked for Europe 
in behalf of the Observatory, returning Dec. 30, and since that 
time have rendered such gratuitous personal aid to the institu- 
tion as my abilities and attainments permitted, the whole 
being, up to June, 1858, at the request, and with the express 
approval of Mr. Olcott. During this entire period, I have 
never, directly or indirectly, received or asked any remunera- 
tion for my services, all of which were cheerfully given without 
recompense, direct or indirect. During the first two and a 
third years I estimate the time devoted to the Observatory as 
averaging about three and a half hours daily. During the last 
ten months the time given has averaged about six and a half 
hours. Not even my traveling expenses have been refunded, 
except a portion of those incurred during my voyage to Europe. 
The amount of actual money outlays incurred by me in behalf 
of the Observatory is between five and six thousand dollars. 

The work done by me prior to January, 1858, consisted in 
planning and procuring instruments, abroad aad at home ; in 
obtaining books for the library ; in devising plans by which 
the building might be adapted for their use, the apparatus and 
instruments erected, the rooms equipped, and the like. Also 
in giving constant advice to Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, and 



directions to a subordinate delegated for the purpose of resid- 
ing at or near the Observatory, and of preventing, as far as 
possible, any mistakes or blunders in the work proposed. 

Prior to December, 1857, I know of no complaint against 
me by any one connected with the institution ; and I am aware 
of no open and responsible charge previous to May 22d, 1858. 
But I had for a long time had cause for complaint against 
one Trustee. Dr. Armsby, whose constant interference with my 
plans, and whose foolish and lavish expenditure of money had 
occasioned me much annoyance and anxiety ; and had led to 
earnest, though friendly appeals on my part, in behalf of the 
interests of the Observatory. 

It was, of course, my desire to make these appeals, — or pro- 
tests, as they might in fact be called, — with as much delicacy 
as was possible; for, apart from the fact that questions of 
finance were entirely out of my province, the constant zeal 
of Dr. Armsby and his apparent disinterestedness had been 
such as to entitle him to the highest consideration. It is true 
that my judgement was greatly at fault in the estimate of his 
character; that his meddlesomeness was mistaken for disinter- 
estedness, and his love of apparent importance mistaken for 
devotion to a noble cause. But men of more knowledge of 
the world than I possess would not improbably have fallen into 
the same error. 

Only one cause of dissatisfaction existed, to my knowledge, 
in the mind of any Trustee previous to the year 1858 ; and 
this was, that while Mr. Olcott had insisted upon my appointing 
Dr. Peters as my assistant, I had declined to do this, after his 
conduct had put my association with him entirely out of the 
question. 

Upon a proposition of Mr. Olcott, made on the 19th of 
December, 1857, a formal compact was made between the 
Trustees and the Scientific Council. By this compact the 
Council were confirmed in their position ; and in addition to 
this I was installed in charge of the Observatory, subject only to 
the Scientific Council. The Council, on their part, undertook to 
carry on the operations of the Observatory without making 



any demands upon the funds of the institution for the personal 
services of the Director and his assistants, until Mrs. Dudley's 
endowment of $50,000 should be restored, which it was stated 
had been encroached upon to such an extent that two years' 
interest might be ^required to make the principal good. 

Thus I became Director. On the 9th of February I pre- 
sented myself to assume personal occupation, but the premises 
not being ready, I delayed the removal of my residence from , 
Cambridge to Albany, until Feb. 20, at the instance of Mr. 
Olcott. 

On the 2d of March, a meeting of Trustees was held, at 
which Mr. Olcott was elected President, and an Executive 
Committee consisting of nine, and from which those Trustees 
were excluded, who it was thought could not be relied on to 
support Mr. Olcott, was appointed and clothed with full power. 

On the 4th of June, 1858, Mr. Olcott obtained from the 
Trustees a resolution declaring that a " Want of Harmony" 
existed between me and " the members of the Board." The 
phraseology employed and the circumstances of the case refer 
this "want of harmony" (as will be hereafter shown), not to 
my relations with the Board, or with all its members ; but at 
least in its origin, with certain members, namely : Dr. James 
H. Armsby, Mr. John N. Wilder and Mr. Robert H. Pruyn, 
who carried their personal grievances on account of some 
alleged, but in fact unreal, want of courtesy towards them on 
the part of some 'of my assistants, to the Executive Committee 
and to the Board. 

This resolution was officially communicated to the Scientific 
Council, who, in reply, asked for information, and promised to 
assemble soon at Albany. On their arrival, however, Mr. Olcott 
refused to allow any intercourse between them and the Board. 

On the 25th of June, two days before they arrived in Albany, 
Mr. Olcott convened the Board of Trustees, and read before 
them a Manifesto against me, which was adopted by a majority, 
consisting of nine, and was forthwith published to the world 
through the daily press. It was a bold and venomous attack 
upon my character, and as false as it was bold. . On the basis of 



this document he also procured from the majority of the Board a 
resolution that the " arrangement contemplated " by their vote 
of the 4th "involved [my] immediate withdrawal •" and another 
resolution to the effect that they would no longer recognize me 
as a member of the Scientific Council. 

The Council asked a meeting with the Board, which, despite 
the earnest solicitation of several Trustees, was refused by Mr. 
Olcott, who also had from the beginning of his presidency 
denied me all access to the Board, and (except on one occasion) 
to the Executive Committee. He also refused to convene the 
Board, to lay before them terms of conciliation offered officially 
to the Trustees by the Scientific Council. He also refused to 
offer any evidence to sustain the allegations of his Manifesto. 
The Council then proceeded to an investigation, with such 
means as they had at their command ; and, having found suffi- 
cient evidence to prove every charge false or frivolous, they 
offered to the Board, in the form of preambles and resolutions, 
their Protest against the proceeding ; and, finally, they resolved 
to take personal charge of the institution, each of the three 
alternately for a month. This was July 2. 

Upon this Mr. Olcott, who had previously refused to convene 
the Board, called a meeting July 3, unknown to the Council, 
and procured from the majority a resolution to dissolve all con- 
nection with the Scientific Council. 

The Council then resolved to stand upon their rights, under 
the compact which the Board had formally ratified Jan. 19, — as 
a course indispensable to the care and preservation of the 
Observatory and instruments, and as due to the interests 
intrusted to them, and to the pledges which they had given to 
the donors. 

One thing alone remained — publicly to expose the falsehood 
and baseness of Mr. Olcott's attack upon me ; and having found 
my course deserving of their approval, to justify and defend it. 
This they did, fully and triumphantly, in their pamphlet enti- 
tled "Defence of Dr. Gould" published on the 10th of July. 

Upon the appearance of this pamphlet a large number of 
the leading gentlemen of Albany published through the daily 



8 

press, a call for a meeting of citizens opposed to the high-hand- 
ed and oppressive action of Mr. Olcott and his majority. The 
meeting was held at the City Hall, and numerously attended. 
It was addressed by several citizens, and by Professors Bache 
and Henry. Resolutions, strongly and indignantly condemning 
the course of the Board, were passed with entire unanimity, and 
a committee appointed to prepare an address to the public. 
This Address was published soon after, and has been widely 
circulated ; and a familiarity with the circumstances enabled its 
signers to cover the whole ground so thoroughly as to leave 
nothing farther needed as the case then stood. This Reply will 
abundantly furnish the evidence of its entire correctness. 

Thus matters rested until August 2*7, on which day appeared 
the volume of the majority — nine names being subscribed to it. 
This Second Attack of Mr. Olcott (for he, as I shall show, is the 
responsible person) is still more bold, more venomous, and more 
false than the first attack of June 26 ; and it is far more 
adroitly contrived and more plausibly constructed. It is a 
volume of massive and well-cemented falsification, resting only 
upon a foundation of false testimony fabricated especially for 
the purpose, and intended principally to injure me and inci- 
dentally the other members of the Scientific Council. 

To this second attack of Mr. Olcott, taken also in connection 
with the former, I am now called on to reply j and it will be 
my endeavor to meet it with a full and complete exposure. 

Meantime, acting under the advice of eminent counsel, and 
relying upon the tribunals of justice to give full protection to 
my rights and those of the Scientific Council under the com- 
pact of December, — feeling the heavy responsibility before the 
scientific world, which has been laid upon me, — it is my purpose 
and hope, with the blessing of Providence, to save the Dudley 
Observatory, if possible, from becoming a mockery and a re. 
proach ; to render it capable of fulfilling what astronomy 
demands of it, what its munificent founder intended, what its 
donors desired, and what the Scientific Council pledged them- 
selves that it should become.* 

* Since this was written, I have been driven from the Observatory by a gang of 
men hired by Mr. Olcott. 



CHAPTER II. 

MR. OLCOTT AND HIS COADJUTORS IN THESE ATTACKS. 

Of the fourteen members who now compose the Board of 
Trustees, the signatures of nine are affixed to the pamphlet, and 
have been also appended to a published card, denying solemnly 
that any of the extracts given by them from letters of mine 
have been falsified or perverted. These are Messrs. 

Thomas W. Olcott, W. H. DeWitt, 

James H. Armsby, Alden March, 

Ira Harris, Samuel H. Ransom, 

Robert H. Pruyn, Isaac W. Vosburgh, 

John F. Rathbone. 

Of these gentlemen I must necessarily say a few words, en- 
deavoring however to use that moderation which is due to 
myself, if not to them, and confining myself rigorously to such 
statements concerning them as are strictly requisite for 
defence. 

The first two of this list are those with whom alone I was well 
acquainted prior to January last. The one was Yice President, 
the other Secretary, of the Board of Trustees, and although, as 
I now learn, without authority formally conferred by the Board, 
(for the Board was not accustomed to hold meetings) these two 
exercised unquestioned control in all the affairs of the Observa- 
tory. With them, and them only, rested the full and supreme 
authority; and until the close of the year 1857, all the members 
of the Scientific Council supposed them to be dejure as well as 
de facto the Executive Committee, and spoke of them as such. 
Of all the letters quoted in the " Statement," as addressed " to 
the Trustees," or written "by the Trustees," every one was 
written to or by one of these two persons. No one of the other 
seven knew, as I am convinced, what was doing or done, unless 
accidentally. No one of them, when he authorized his signature 
to be appended, could have had the means of knowing whether 
the assertions for which he pledged his word were true or not. 
Although the means of ascertaining their falsity was at hand, 
and the proofs to a large extent since given to the public, not 
one of the signatures has been withdrawn. Two of the seven, 
2 



10 

Messrs. John F. Rathbone and Ira Harris, have been elected 
during the present year, the former in January, the latter in 
June. Yet they also certify by their signatures to the " State- 
ment." From the time, of my first connection with the Obser- 
vatory in September, 1855, until January last, there was not one 
of the majority, excepting Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, with 
whom I had more than a very casual acquaintance ; and there 
were not more than two others whom I knew by sight. I had 
once or twice met Judge Harris, but he was not a Trustee. No 
meeting of the Board was held during this entire interval, (at 
least so I was informed by the Secretary,) certainly none for 
the transaction of any important business ; and to the best of 
my knowledge, no Trustee other than Messrs. Olcott and 
Armsby took any care, exercised any supervision or control, or 
had any personal knowledge of the affairs of the institution. 

Mr. Olcott who so constantly throughout the book speaks of 
himself as President, was not President until March, 1858, 
when General Stephen Van Rensselaer, — who had generously 
given a tract of about eight acres of land, mostly within the 
city limits, who had been President of the Board since its in- 
corporation, and whose sense of honor and decorum had been 
so shocked at the course of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, that he 
would no longer consent to give the implied sanction afforded 
by his name, — abandoned all connection with the Board, by 
resigning his Presidency and his Trusteeship together. The 
Presidency was instantly filled by the election of Mr. Olcott : 
but the resignation as Trustee was not accepted until some three 
months later, when it was taken from the files, and the vacancy 
in the Board filled by the choice of Judge Harris, who is not a 
donor. 

For two years, while the Observatory was in progress, my 
relations with Mr. Olcott and with Dr. Armsby were most 
cordial. In my frequent visits to Albany upon business of the 
Observatory, my time was chiefly passed in their society. 
Faith in the sincerity of their devotion to the lofty aim which 
they professed to have in view, rendered them objects of my 
sincere attachment and led to an under-estimate of such fail- 



11 

ings as a continuance of the intimacy revealed. The one great 
fault which would have rendered all other manifestations sus- 
picious, that one great undermining hollowness which cancels 
and eliminates all seeming virtues, Want of Honesty or Truth- 
fulness, was unsuspected till the last ; and their other predomi- 
nant traits, though seen and recognized, were venial and trivial 
compared with the truthfulness and disinterestedness by which 
I thought their every action guided. 

Mr. Olcott I regarded as a generous man, determined to sig- 
nalize himself and contribute to the elevation of his city by 
promoting the establishment of literary and scientific institu- 
tions, which should advance the intellectual progress of Amer- 
ica, ennobling and exalting all who might feel their influence. 
Dr. Armsby I considered as a man, the disinterestedness and 
earnestness of whose heart would far more than atone for the 
weakness of his head, and the deficiencies of his education. A 
true, honest, and totally unselfish man, such as I supposed him to 
be, is too rare and priceless to be discarded for incapacity of 
judgement, or extravagance of schemes ; and I thought that his 
wild exuberance of crude suggestions might be guided into 
useful channels. The oft-repeated declarations and promises 
by which Messrs. Olcott and Armsby enlisted the aid and 
co-operation of the Scientific Council, and the apparent truth- 
fulness and unselfishness which seemed to govern their actions, 
produced a great effect, and we devoted ourselves with heart 
and hand to the noble end which we believed them to have in 
view. We knew nothing of their antecedents, but supposed 
them men of unsullied reputations. No friends gave us hints 
of the past, or warnings for the future. We trusted implicitly, 
and have found ourselves terribly deceived. The event may 
not be creditable to our judgement, still I will freely confess 
that bitter as has been the experience, and severe the ordeal, I 
would rather trust again to such assurances in behalf of such 
a cause, and be again deceived, than suffer it to fail for want 
of aid which I could give. 

To these two men I became strongly attached, and, even now, 
each reference to their letters, written or received, brings a new 



12 

pang. The Ruler of the Universe works with strange imple- 
ments, and his ways are past our finding out. Should the 
present crisis end in the establishment of a genuine Observatory, 
to be employed for the advancement of astronomy, not for the 
amusement of the idle, to extend the bounds of human knowl- 
edge rather than to please as a play-thing, the price paid in 
endurance may not have been too great. At any rate, I shall 
not complain of it.* 

Mr. Olcott is the principal officer nominally, and the only 
manager practically, of one of the most prosperous banking 
institutions in the city. It is important that the extraordinary 
Command and control which he has exercised over the majority 
of the Board of Trustees should be understood, in order that 
my relations to him be comprehended. And I therefore do not 
pass beyond the record when I say that his influence is emphat- 
ically a money-power, and that his predominant characteristic 
and ruling passion is a love of power. Not the power which 
sways the popular masses, nor that which might elevate and 
benefit his fellow men, nor that attained by the winning of a 
well-earned name ; but an undisputed throne in a bank parlor, 
a despotic rule over bank clerks, a supreme command over 
bank directors, an unchecked dominion over bank borrowers, 
and the absolute control of large cash funds, represent the kind 
of dominion which he loves to exercise. Probably no road 
to or from bank accommodations was ever more clearly 
marked out. Nothing is exacted of the applicant but "Har- 
mony" with the President. This is with Mr. Olcott the one 
great virtue ; its absence is the only crime. A " want of har- 
mony " in a director is the sure signal for a change at the next 
election; a "want of harmony" in a debtor is the sure pre- 
curser of some sudden foreclosure or demand ; " want of har- 
mony " in a citizen is but too often the forerunner of some loss 
of financial credit, if he be engaged in commercial pursuits. 
There are always friends to reward, always enemies to punish, 
and always bank funds available for either purpose. So much 
it is necessary to state as preface to the assertion, that Mr. 

* The mob force employed by Mr. Olcott, and by which I have since been driven 
from the Observatory, was not anticipated at this time. 






13 

Olcott wields a very considerable power in the city of Albany; 
that this power arises not from any moral elevation of charac- 
ter or reputation for the same, but from the loanable funds of 
a bank controlled for thirty years or more mainly at his auto- 
cratic will and pleasure. Most of the active supporters whom 
he has enlisted against me in this crusade are his by a peculiar 
title ; he has purchased and paid for them. Of the nine names 
appended to the " Statement" of the Majority, three are direc- 
tors of his bank, including the President and Yice-President 
of the trustees ; three others, members of commercial firms, 
have important dealings with this bank, and receive accommo- 
dations at its counter ; and two of the remaining three are Dr. 
Armsby, the ever-active and faithful adjutant of Mr. Olcott, 
and Judge Harris, whose past and present relations to him are 
very well understood in Albany. 

Dr. Armsby is, as I have said, the busy, untiring, gossiping, 
and wondrously meddlesome agent of Mr. Olcott for petty 
matters. His pertinacity is equal to Mr. Olcott's vigor of will, 
and what the one conceives and directs, the other executes; 
with marvelous indiscretion, it is true, but with a pertinacious 
zeal which supplies the place of good judgement. His love of 
power is equal to that of his chief, but tends in a somewhat 
different direction — he aspires to no dominion over Boards of 
Directors or of Trustees, but to authority which enables him 
to employ this mason and that carpenter, and to figure as an 
important personage before the eyes of admiring apprentices 
and day-laborers. These simple traits define the man, and 
explain the whole financial difficulty in which he has been en- 
abled to plunge the institution by his extraordinary reckless- 
ness, and which has rendered it necessary for Mr. Olcott, (the 
"Responsible Guardian," as he terms himself,) to find some 
victim upon whose unhappy shoulders the burden of this " waste- 
ful extravagance " may be laid. It will not be difficult for 
any one to perceive how these very qualities of meddlesomeness 
and pertinacity led me, w T hile ignorant of the deceitfulness upon 
which they are engrafted, to regard him as the impersonation 
of disinterested enthusiam in behalf of a noble cause. He was 



14 

profuse in promises, in outlays, and in the grandeur of his aspi- 
rations ; — but it appears that all this was done with the trust 
funds confided to his charge. He was profuse in his expressions 
of gratitude in behalf of the Trustees, for what it had been in 
my power to contribute to the common cause, viz : my devotion 
and my toil ; he was, in fact, profuse in every thing except in 
donations — these he never made ; but it now appears, that there 
was a proviso to the gratitude, as well as to the promises and 
declarations — it held good just so long as there was no " want 
of harmony" with Mr. Olcott. And the first exhibition of 
manly self-respect and refusal to comply with the wishes of the 
supreme Manager, furnished the fatal signal ; it was the one 
unpardonable crime, a breach of " Harmony." 

These two members, in the relations already described, have 
controlled from the beginning, and still control, a working 
majority of the Board of Trustees of the Observatory; a single 
exception only to the absoluteness of this rule, occurred on the 
18th of January last. Mr. Olcott and Dr. Armsby received 
and expended the funds, gave directions, and until a recent 
period, exercised the power of the entire Board ; and all this, as 
I am now informed, actually without any authority, except 
such as was afforded by the unquestioning neutrality and 
passive toleration of their co-Trustees. 

The five last-mentioned gentlemen of the list occupy a 
peculiar position. Some of them, I am credibly assured, shield 
themselves under the declaration, that they did not read the 
documents to which their names are affixed, but gave full 
authority to Mr. Olcott to employ their signatures ; a kind of 
"open indorsement," not uncommon in the ordinary concerns of 
trade, where dollars only are concerned, but by no means 
justifiable in a matter like this. 

Of their moral responsibility, I say nothing; but, grossly as 
they have outraged all that is dear to me, I will not withhold 
my conviction that they designed no deliberate falsehoods; 
but are sheltering themselves under the pitiful plea, that " they 
have given Mr. Olcott leave to use their names," and that the 
accountability rests with him. 



15 

Only a higher Being than man may judge them aright. I 
will however say, of these five gentlemen, that their course has 
excited my profound sorrow rather than any other emotion. 
They have rather lacked the courage to do right, than possessed 
the boldness to do wrong. While they have not ventured to 
participate actively in the foul work, they have not dared either 
to protest against it or to refuse the use of their names in its 
support. They have endeavored to conceal their participancy 
from themselves, in the hope that they would thus become 
absolved by others. Placed in a trying position, they have not 
dared oppose the unsparing policy of a man whose favorite 
boasts are " that he was never yet put down," and that " no 
one has ever crossed his path with impunity." Thus much 
I would say of Messrs. DeWitt, John P. Rathbone, March, 
Ransom and Yosburgh ; I bear them no ill-will, for regret has 
taken the place of indignation. While composing that portion 
of the majority, whose* independent personal action might have 
carried weight and influence, as coming from persons of previ- 
ously unimpeached integrity, they have been willing to allow 
the use of their names in cover of this wicked attack, and to 
contribute respectability to the list of signatures affixed to the 
" Statement," — although some of them have not hesitated to 
avow that they did not read it or know its contents. 

The deliberate destruction of a man's physical existence is 
the highest crime known to human law; its highest degree 
being when the deed is done in cold blood for gain. What 
relation the attempt to commit that crime bears to an attempt 
to destroy the usefulness and the character of an innocent man, 
who has not only merited no attack but actually given no pro- 
vocation, I leave for others to say. By braving the consequen- 
ces of Mr. Olcott's displeasure, these gentlemen might have 
made for themselves an honorable and proud distinction; their 
names would have been treasured and bright in the memories 
of their fellow citizens, and they would have escaped the self- 
reproach from which, I will not doubt, they are now suffering. 
Though my acquaintance with them is slight, it is sufficient to 
grieve me deeply at seeing their names affixed to a series 



16 

of gross misstatements, falsified quotations, and unfounded 
calumnies. 

Beside these five, and the two managing members before 
spoken of, there are two other Trustees who make up the nine. 
These two form also a class by themselves. For — while occupy- 
ing the same position as the five, as regards knowledge of the 
facts, — they have, unlike the five, entered bitterly and violently 
into the contest. 

They are Messrs. Ira Harris and Robert H. Pruyn, gentlemen 
too well known and understood in Albany to require any 
allusion or comment from me ; although for the sake of readers 
at a distance it is necessary in self-defence, to allude to their 
standing at home ; and to say that their names are not con- 
sidered as adding very much to the moral strength of any 
document. The former occupies at present the high position 
of Judge of the Supreme Court of this State; yet I very 
cheerfully leave the weight belonging to his name, to the 
judgement of that community in which his life has been passed, 
and which is familiar with the character, repute and incidents 
of that life. My desire is to attack no man ; and while neither 
afraid nor unwilling to speak the whole truth so far as I speak 
at all — my purpose leads me only to say so much as may be 
requisite for the defence of my character and honor. Regard- 
ing my scientific attainments or deficiencies, I care for the 
judgement of none but my peers in science ; yet acknowledge 
that reputation as a man of truth, honor and discretion, is 
dearer than all else in life j and that the respect and esteem 
which I covet from all reputable men is quite independent of 
the astronomical knowledge which such men may possess. 

It was this Judge, — whose proper office is to hold the 
even scales of justice between man and man, — who, on the 4th 
day of June last, was elected Trustee as soon as the meeting of 
the Board was called to order, who hastened from the apart- 
ment where he was waiting the expected summons, and within 
half an hour offered a resolution that I be expelled from the 
Observatory ! It was this Judge, — ignorant of the whole history 
of my relations with the institution, except so far as informed 



n 

of them by one of the conflicting parties, — possessing so little 
sense of the dignity with which his high office should have in- 
vested him, as to plunge headlong into the arena of persona^ 
combat, — not shrinking from a public avowal of the purpose 
for which he had been elected, by hastening to the performance 
of his prescribed part, — not hesitating to furnish the use of his 
name for the indorsement of grave charges, which he had not, 
and from their very nature could not have, investigated, and 
which were based upon occurrences previous to his connection 
with the Board, — it was this Judge, who unblushingly moved 
my expulsion, in obedience to Mr. Olcott's behests ; and this, 
too, before I had been arraigned at the bar of even such a tri- 
bunal, before any official complaint or representation of alleged 
short-comings had been made known to me, and at the very 
first meeting of the Board subsequent to that which was called 
in consequence of my arrival to assume charge of the 
institution. This Judge knew nothing of the case, beyond the 
simple fact that the President and his adjutant, the Secretary, 
had, for reasons of their own, determined to " rid themselves of 
the Director." He was well advised of the honor intended him, 
and of the special service required of him. He has for a num- 
ber of years been thoroughly accustomed to the exercise of 
"Harmony" with Mr. Olcott, and he went straight to the per- 
formance of the service, regardless of consequences. At an 
early stage of the proceeding this Judge declared that he was 
actuated in the part he was taking, by the consideration that 
if anybody was to be crushed in this business, he would rather 
it should be the stranger than an Albanian. And he has stated 
that he knew nothing against Dr. Gould ; and it would be a 
great mistake to suppose him influenced by hostility to him or 
by any want of respect for his attainments. Yet, something- 
has ' influenced ' him. 

In the farther prosecution of the duties imposed upon him by 
Mr. Olcott, this Judge has now prepared the "Statement of the 
Trustees " for the press, — a statement which consists, as I 
intend to show, of extracts falsified, distorted and garbled, 



18 

from private and often highly confidential letters, furnished 
him for the purpose by their recipients; of sophistical and 
tricky special pleas, artfully contrived to fit those passages 
which were to be quoted as evidence ; of deliberate misstate- 
ments, of equally untruthful intimations, and of vulgar and 
unworthy sneers and innuendoes. Harsh words, and I must 
prove that they are not merely justified, but demanded. 

I am well aware that Judge Harris was not the sole author 
of the " Statement of the Trustees;" that others were 
employed upon the work, prominent among whom was the 
late Mr. John N. Wilder, whom the solemn hand of death now 
protects. But that Ira Harris prepared.: a large portion of the 
book, including many of the alleged extracts, and that he 
edited the whole, he dare not deny. 

The other Trustee, Mr. Robert H. Pruyn, is a person whose 
bills for iron work have, as I am credibly informed, done much 
towards swelling the amount of those " wasteful expenditures" 
for which he now asserts that I am responsible. There was 
one of his bills for the correctness of which I was really to be 
responsible, and which I could not approve ; and through the 
unauthorized and unjustifiable exhibition to him by Mr. Olcott 
of a note which I had written to the latter, — stating the facts 
and asking advice as to my proper course, — his personal 
enmity was incurred. 

Such are the Nine Trustees who, assuming the name and 
title of the entire Board, have signed and published the work 
to which I am now called upon to reply. It was necessary to 
allude to them personally, because their supposed position in 
the community might otherwise be cited to add weight and 
credibility to the assertions vouched for by their names. Hav- 
ing given the necessary information, I shall allude to them 
individually hereafter only as the case may require. 

Their intimation that I have stood aloof from kindly rela- 
tions and courtesies to them, and have endeavored to cultivate 
a party of friends among those opposed to the Observatory 
enterprise, is untrue. There is not one of them towards whom 
I have not advanced as far as self-respect and manliness per- 



19 

mitted, in the effort to cultivate acquaintance, and if possible, 
friendly regards. 

Although I am now aware that their relations to Mr. Olcott 
did not permit this, — and that the arrangement in accordance 
with which I came to Albany, was not at the time intended to 
be carried out by their chief, — yet no suspicion of this fact 
existed in my mind until it was taught by experience. 

They were gentlemen with whom I was to be officially con- 
nected, and with whom agreeable relations were for every 
reason earnestly to be desired. Two of them had been gene- 
rous donors to the Observatory, and the knowledge of this 
circumstance had won for them my respect. I was aware that 
Dr. Armsby had, for some time previous to my arrival, devoted 
himself sedulously to the work of misrepresenting and calum- 
niating me to the rest ; and I felt a pride in anticipating the 
thoroughness with which personal acquaintance and observa- 
tion on their part would expose the true state of the case, 
without a spoken word from me. In short, I did not doubt 
that they were mostly sincere men, who wished to be guided 
by their duty ; and believing them such, was desirous of their 
esteem and approbation. And though the cordially hospitable 
reception, which welcomed me in this cordial and hospitable 
city, came from gentlemen who were not members of the 
majority, — yet, provided that I treated the individual Trustees 
with courtesy, and manifested no tendency to slight them in 
word or deed, can they have any right to complain of my 
becoming attached to friends who may not form part of the 
circle which surround the authors of the pamphlet ? If grati- 
tude to those who have made me welcome to their homes and 
hearts, if esteem for the social and domestic virtues with which 
I soon became familiar, if respect for culture and refinement, 
had all combined with those affinities which spring from taste 
and education, to bind me in friendship with others, — had 
these Trustees any right to complain, so long as I demeaned 
myself with courtesy to them, and rendered gratuitous and 
laborious service to the Observatory? My relation to the 
Trustees entailed, in my judgement, no occasion for cringing 



20 

servility. The acts of courtesy and hospitality, which so soon 
after my removal to Albany made me feel no longer a stranger 
in the city, came from others ; and I am aware of no considera- 
tion which should preclude me from habitual intercourse with 
honorable men, because they may not be members of the 
Majority of the Board of Trustees. 

If these Trustees mean to say that I stood in any manner 
aloof from them, or manifested any consciousness of superi- 
ority, they mean to say what they know to be untrue. 

In speaking of these men, and especially of Messrs. Olcott 
and Harris, every reader will perceive, that however sorely 
tempted, I have not allowed myself in these remarks to go 
beyond the strictest line of self-defence, or to pass beyond the 
record of personal experience and of Observatory relations for 
the sake of retaliation, or even of depriving them of power for 
future evil. In speaking of them, it has been and will be neces- 
sary, in simply protecting my own character, to use strong 
words. Yet I claim the fault is not in me, but in those who have 
been guilty of such acts, that the very naming and description 
of them demand the use of terms and epithets, the mildest of 
which, at all suitable to the case or sufficiently expressive of the 
character of the acts, are repulsively coarse and harsh, and 
are such as nothing but an overruling necessity could induce 
me to employ. 

CHAPTER III. 

NATURE OF THE ATTACKS. 

The first assault of Mr. Olcott, (known as the Manifesto of 
June 26th,) was intended to overwhelm and paralyze me by 
its ferocity and and violence. It was, perhaps, not unnaturally 
assumed that a man of retiring, studious habits, and of sensitive 
organization, would be entirely " crushed" (to use the favorite 
word and threat of my assailants,) by such bitter and unsparing 
denunciations. It came unexpectedly upon me ; for on the last 
occasion that I had seen Mr. Olcott, his countenance was 
wreathed in smiles, and I had begun to believe, that even his 



21 

feelings had been influenced by the unswerving and uniformly 
conciliatory course which I had pursued. From the beginning 
to the end, this Manifesto was one series of deliberate untruths 
and intentional distortions. And the impossibility of dealing 
with or characterizing these two attacks, without the employ- 
ment of terms and phrases which a gentleman would naturally 
desire to avoid, is only inferior in painfulness to the humilia- 
tion of contending with antagonists who resort to such means 
of aggression. 

The Scientific Council, after investigation of each and every 
accusation and imputation brought by Mr. Olcott, and 
" adopted" by his majority in the Board, found them severally 
untrue, so far as they presented any cause for censure ; but so 
persistently has the warfare been carried on, that this verdict 
has itself been made by Mr. Olcott and his colleagues the basis 
of an accusation that the members of the Council too, are 
usurping and unjust judges. 

Thus stood the case previous to the publication of the second 
assault. I had myself preserved an impassive silence, anxious 
to be judged by any reasonable and honest man who would 
incur the labor of an examination. The tribunal, to whom the 
majority of the Trustees (not I, as is alleged by the accusers,) 
had appealed, had deliberately assembled; and, when Mr. Olcott 
refused to offer any evidence in support of his charges, or to 
convene the Trustees, or to afford an opportunity to the 
Council for conference with the Board, they had examined 
such evidence as was accessible to them and found it amply 
sufficient to disprove and rebut the accusations of Mr. Olcott. 

The Council were surprised|at his refusing them a hearing or 
an opportunity to meet the Board. But his refusal did not 
surprise me, for I had been consistently and uniformly excluded 
from their meetings. Never was I allowed to attend a meeting 
of the Trustees, except on the 19th of January, when the Council 
met them in form, addressed them and retired. Never was I 
invited to be present at a session of the Executive Committee, 
except on the occasion of their first meeting, convened at my 
formal application, to enable me to present a communication ; 



22 

one, moreover, to which, although it was of the first importance, 
they never vouchsafed a reply. The proposition that I should 
attend these meetings was declined by Mr. Olcott. 

The Council were surprised too/that Mr. Olcott was unwilling 
to present his evidence to them, for the world had awarded 
them the reputation of honorable, just and truthful men, and the 
majority had actually appealed to them to act in the emergency. 
But his " discreet unwillingness " did not surprise me, for he 
had no evidence to offer. Seven weeks elapsed between the 
publication of the "Defence" and that of the pamphlet of the 
Trustees. And what did this pamphlet present ? Evidence in 
support of his original charges already published to the world 
in justification of my attempted expulsion? No. Only in 
support of a very few of them are there attempts at evidence. 
Its 173 pages consist chiefly of a different array of accusations, 
which had been built up, meantime, upon documents falsified 
for the purpose. Those original charges which are repeated, at 
all, are either reasserted without evidence, or reproduced with 
essential variations. The remainder are passed over in judici- 
ous silence, while a multitude of new ones, the offspring of 
necessity, are added. The Accusers indeed allege, in this second 
attack, that some of the charges against which the Defence 
of the Council was directed, were never made. Public 
opinion had gone so decidely against the Trustees that it was 
necessary to vary the issues ; drowning men catch at straws. 
Side issues of every kind are introduced in a deliberate attempt 
to hide, befog or confuse the main questions. Sneers and 
innuendoes, proverbially difficult to answer, abound ; personal 
invective is substituted for argument, and falsehoods by impli- 
cation are ingeniously engrafted upon falsehoods direct. A 
sedulous and sustained effort is made to embroil me with 
personal friends, or with^individuals not at all parties to the 
contest, and by every other feasible means to excite prejudice 
against me. More than all, and worse than all, private and con- 
fidential matters — contained in letters to Mr. Olcott and Dr. 
Armsby, who once pretended to be my warmest friends, and to 
whom I had habitually written with an unrestrained freedom, 



23 

which laid them under the strictest obligations of confidence, 
none the less sacred because sometimes only implied, — are now 
publicly brought foward with intent to injure the writer. But 
as this betrayal of confidence, this treachery to honor, decency 
and manliness, could produce in itself nothing which could be 
rendered available for the purposes of the authors, these con- 
fidential letters were deliberately altered and falsified, so that 
they might be used against me. 

Those who thus perverted truth to gratify personal malice 
little dreamed that press-copies of the original letters were in 
existence, and that, when they proclaimed (page 163, 164) that 
they were not violating confidence, because the letters publish- 
ed were " official," it could be placed beyond the possibility of 
doubt or denial that the words " Private " and " Confidential " 
were actually written at the top of some of the letters from 
which they quote. I have already directed public attention to 
this matter in a letter published extensively through the daily 
press. And in the present Reply I shall give the evidence in 
full, by presenting authenticated extracts from the original 
letters, together with the extracts as they appeared in the 
"Statement" of the majority. All can judge between us. 
And let all remember that my Accusers say : 

" But in this statement, the Trustees have thought fit to confine them- 
selves to matters relating directly to the Dudley Observatory, and have 
availed themselves only of such letters as are strictly of an official charac- 
ter, carefully abstaining from all reference to such as might by any possi- 
bility, be regarded as confidential." (Page 163, 164.) 

The law does not reach such crimes as these. They stand 
not upon the definitions of the statutes. But in the sight of 
every honest man this is forgery, — not "moral forgery," nor 
the technical forgery of the statutes which apply to pecuniary 
matters, but none the less forgery and certainly no less a crime. 
And even in these days it is almost inconceivable that to such 
a record of human debasement should be appended the name 
of a man who is a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State. 

The pamphlet is artfully contrived under the guidance of 
two leading ideas. The one is to avoid any discussion of most 
of the charges originally brought by Mr. Olcott, indorsed by 



24 

the Nine, and refuted in the " Defence ;" the other is, by mis- 
representation of real occurrences, and distortion of passages, 
or fabrication of pretended passages, in real letters, and by 
presenting both in a false light, to sustain such special plead- 
ing as these occurrences and quotations seemed capable of sup- 
porting. Only the fortunate habit of retaining transfer-copies 
of my letters has saved me from falling a victim to their artful 
machinations. 

In regard to the only two really grave charges of the first 
attack, namely, incompetency as an astronomer, and peculation 
as a public officer, — this second attack now actually insinuates 
that the former accusation was not brought, and immediately 
reiterates it ; and it solemnly denies that the second was ever 
preferred at all, and then proceeds to reiterate this also ! I 
propose fully discussing these points in the appropriate place, 
hereafter. 

The task of exposing the falsehoods, garblings and perver- 
sions in this second attack is a most repulsive one, and one 
which requires an amount of labor almost incredible to 
those who are acquainted with the facts of the case, and with 
the barefaced violations of truth, which seem susceptible of 
instant and complete disproof. The difficulty consists in the 
wily adroitness with which a coloring is slily given to every 
occurrence and every citation, to render it capable of prejudic- 
ing the reader in favor of their plea of my unfulfilled promises, 
inexplicable delays, reckless extravagance, and offensive per- 
sonal character. Scarcely a quotation is given from my letters, 
scarcely an event narrated, to which some turn is not artfully 
given, for the sake of affecting the reader's mind in these 
respects, — no matter what may be the immediate subject under 
consideration. The proposed inferences are not openly drawn 
by the authors at the time the insinuations are begun to be con- 
veyed, but their apparent cumulative evidence is meantime at 
work to bias the reader ; so that when the charges are directly 
made they fall upon soil prepared to receive the seed. Painful 
and wearisome as is the task of correcting the citations, expos- 
ing the perversions, and disproving the falsehoods, one by one, 



u 

I have undertaken it, though worn and well-nigh exhausted by 
the pressure of my heavy and manifold labors. And with the 
blessing of God, I will finish the work, that my friends may 
have no cause to regret their friendship, and that such of my 
kindred as may survive me, may never have occasion to hang 
their heads at the sound of my name. Money will not do all 
things ; and though it should succeed in " crushing" me, it shall 
not " crush " my character. 

For the sake of avoiding too great a consumption of space, I 
will give only a few specimens of the falsehoods, garblings and 
perversions in this place, to serve as illustrations. They shall 
be severally considered in the Detailed Refutation, which will 
constitute the second part of this Reply. 

1. Gross Falsehoods. — It is my deliberate assertion, made 
after careful estimation, that the wilful and direct misstate- 
ments (apart from those by falsification of documents,) amount 
to very nearly, if not quite, five hundred, being, on an average, 
about three to the page. I cite a few as illustrations : 

"At this time, the project received some slight check, from the discour- 
agement of Messrs. Bache, Peirce and Henry ; who, at a meeting at the 
Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank, advised against the enterprise." (Page 5.) 

" He [Prof. Bache] then proposed that the citizens of Albany should 
furnish the means to purchase a Heliometer." (Page 7.) 

" Dr. Gould offered to go to Europe, for the purpose of securing these 
important instruments." (Page 9.) 

" It [the Calculating Engine] arrived in April, 1857, but was laid aside 
for more than twelve months, when it brought forth a column of printed 
figures, and the Trustees were charged two hundred dollars for bringing 
it into use." (Page 31.) 

"Both instruments, Dr. Gould had promised to have mounted nearly a 
year and a half before." (Page 48.) 

" All were agreed in deploring and condemning the conduct of Dr. 
Gould." (Page 86.) 

" Thus, they assumed to declare the rights and powers of the Trustees, 
and to make them in all respects, subordinate to themselves." (Page 99.) 

" Dr. Gould has stated to several members of the Board of Trustees, 
that it [the longitude-determination] would occupy twenty-five months, 
and that the work would be of such a character as to render it impossible 
to do any other Observatory work during that period." (Page 116.) 



26 

" The 'pledge' of Prof. Bache was to supply a Transit instrument for 
time, at a cost of $1,500, to be mounted and used in the Dudley Obser- 
vatory." (Page 133.) 

" A sentinel now walks upon his post at the gate of the Observatory, 
to repel any intrusion from its legal proprietors." (Page 171.) 

There is no way of dealing with such assertions as these, 
other than by saying, that they are nakedly, wickedly, scandal- 
ously untrue ; that they are destitute of even a colorable 
foundation ; that all were known by Mr. Olcott and some others 
of the signers, to be untrue, and that any of the remainder 
might have learned their untruth by the slightest examination 
or inquiry. I give them as examples, being guided in the 
selection only by the fewness of words in which the falsehoods 
are contained. The falsity of scores of other assertions of 
the Nine Accusers shall be made apparent in the detailed refu- 
tation. 

2. Garblings. — To these many of the same remarks will 
apply, and while the great mass of them shall be exhibited 
hereafter, I confine myself in this place to a few specimens, and 
the following statistics : 

There are contained in the pamphlet of the majority, seventy- 
one alleged extracts from my letters to Messrs. Olcott, Armsby 
and Peters, of which I have succeeded in tracing sixty-Jive in 
my press-copies. Of these, twenty-six are either so mutilated 
and garbled as essentially to reverse their meaning, or contain 
absolute fabrications, these changes being in every case made 
the basis of a false accusation. Twenty more are grossly 
perverted for a manifest purpose. Eleven others are altered, 
although less grossly, and only eight are given as I wrote them. 
Of the six which I have not succeeded in identifying, I am 
certain that I never wrote at least one, and that one has been 
mutilated. 

The case is analogous, with the alleged extracts from public 
letters and remarks of mine, and to a considerable extent also 
with those from the letters of Prof. Bache. 

Annexed are a few illustrations of this garbling and mutila- 
tion : 



27 



( No. 1. ) 

From the" Statement " p. 131. What I did write to Mr. Olcott. 



Leaving the Barometers, the 
Council next enter upon the Dome. 
Mr. Olcott had stated that Dr. 
Gould had applied for the building 
of a new Dome. The Council 
boldly say: "The letters of Dr. 
Gould show that no such applica- 
tion was made." Let us see what 
that gentleman's letter really did 
say. He writes : 

u It (the Dome) ought to be rebuilt. 
* * * The bad construction of the 
base cannot be remedied by any reason- 
able expenditure. * * * As I can- 
not altogether surrender the hope of 
yet seeing some equatorial instrument 
in the dome before long, it seems to me 
that $1,800 could not be better employ- 
ed at the Observatory. May I beg for 
your decision as early as possible V 

The Scientific Council might not 
regard this as an " application — 
most men would. Who, then, makes 
the " loose statement ?" 



Cambridge, 1858, Jan. 28. 

My dear Sir — Mr. Hodgins's re- 
port upon the dome came yesterday 
to hand, and it has given me some 
perplexity to decide whether I ought 
to recommend a new dome or not. 
The best way now apparent is that 
which I have here pursued, namely, 
to report to you officially the pre- 
cise state of the case, giving, so far 
as possible, the arguments. 

The truth is it ought to be re- 
built, and the money question is 
the only one of weight on the other 
side. The bad construction of the 
base can not be remedied by any 
reasonable expenditure ; but when 
the total weight of the revolving 
portion shall have been reduced 
from 14J tons to 9, and the strain 
of these 9 made equable (while 
that of the 14J is often thrown in 
great measure upon three points 
instead of eight,) the error will, I 
think, be productive of no serious 
future evil. The four inches of 
settling will probably have reached 
their limit. 

As I cannot altogether surrender 
the hope of yet seeing some equato- 
rial instrument in the dome before 
long, it seems to me that $1,800 
could not be better employed at the 
Observatory provided the means for 
equipment, &c, already alluded to 
in my letter of estimates, are not 
thereby to be jeoparded. This is 
the sole question. 

May I beg for your decision as 
early as possible. Meantime, I re- 
main, 

Very sincerely yours, 

B. A. GOULD, Jr. 
Thos. W. Olcott, Esq. 

On p. 69 the nine Trustees say that Dr. Gould had applied 

for an appropriation to build a new Dome, which would have 

cost $3,000. On p. 71 they assert that Dr. Gould had applied 

for the appropriation of $2,000 for a new Dome. 



28 

The truth is, that I communicated to the Trustees, (and with 
a distinct reference of the whole matter, including the money 
question, to them for their independent decision,) the report 
of Mr. Hodgins and the statement that a new dome would 
probably, all incidentals included, cost more than $1,500, and 
less than $2,000. 

It is difficult to refrain from expressions of honest indigna- 
tion at fraud so deliberate. The Accusers say " let us see what 
that gentleman's [Dr. Gould's] really did say," and then go on 
to give brief extracts, not from my official letter to the Trus- 
tees, but from a private letter to Mr. Olcott, — the whole sense 
and meaning of which is perverted by mutilation, to make it 
express the sense which the Trustees pretended to extract from 
it. That the public may see what I did write ; I have given my 
letter to Mr. Olcott, entire from a press-copy. They make this 
letter express an unconditional opinion that the dome should 
be immediately rebuilt and call for an early decision on that 
point ; whereas — while it informs the Board that according to 
Mr. Hodgins's report, the dome ought to be rebuilt, — it presents 
" the money question" as " the sole question" in the case, and 
asks an early decision on this point. I nowhere apply for the 
rebuilding of the dome, and in the official letter to the Trus- 
tees, vmtten at Mr. Olcotfs request, I carefully avoid taking any 
responsibility on the subject. A private letter to Mr. Olcott 
(sent with the one to the Trustees, and given above), is the one 
from which the Accusers quote, and which they so grossly gar- 
ble. In this I gave my honest opinion as to\what ought to be 
done ; it was my duty to do so. I say distinctly that " the 
money question is the only one of weight on the other side," 
and state that by equalizing the pressure of the revolving 
portion of the dome, the strain will be so distributed as to be 
no longer dangerous. Finally I suggest that the sum of $1800 
could not be better employed at the Observatory than in doing 
this, provided the means of equipment, &c, already alluded to 
in my letter of estimates, of Jan. 21, are not thereby to be 
jeoparded. "Who then," say the Accusers, "makes the loose 
statement ?" 

Let any honest man judge. 



29 

(No. 2.) 

From the " Statement " p. 18. What I did torite in a Letter to 

On the 23d of April, 1856, wri- Dr. Armsby, 1856, April 23. 

ting from Cambridge, Dr. Gould The drawings I have been study- 

savs ; ing, and although my want of fami- 

" The drawings I have been studying, harity with architectural drawing 

and although my want of familiarity prevents me from understanding 

with architecture prevents me from un- them fully as yet, I hope, &c. 
derstanding them fully, as yet, I hope 

to have a clear comprehension of the From my Letter to Br. Armsby, 

plan of alteration to-day." 1856, April 24. 

On the following day he writes, The plan for changing the build- 

" The plan for changing the building— in g see . ms vei 7 handsome, but then 
that is, altering the two wings, — is satis- will arise that everlastingly torment- 
factory and very handsome." ing question, which haunts us all 

through life, — $? 

I invite the attention of all good and honorable men to the 
version which the Accusers have given of these letters. The 
substitution of the word w architecture " for my own words 
M architectural drawing ," was probably made in order that I 
might be made to appear unacquainted with a more, rather than 
with a less, important subject. This is indeed a petty malice 
and needs no farther notice. But let it be well observed, that 
they have garbled my letter of April 24, not merely by 
omissions, but also by inserting words which I never wrote, and 
which change my whole meaning. I say not a word about 
" altering the two wings ; " I do not say that the plan is " sat- 
isfactory " or that it is very handsome, but simply that it seems 
very handsome, and then qualify my cautious expressions of 
approbation by a " but" which the Accusers deliberately 
and wilfully omit. Their object throughout the entire " State- 
ment " is to make the world believe that I am responsible for 
their reckless and wasteful expenditures. It would not do to 
quote a sentence from any letter of mine, going to show that I 
was cautious about expenditures, even in a single instance, and 
so they quietly omit the words "but then will arise that 
everlastingly tormenting question, which haunts us all through 
life, — $ ? " The authors of the " Statement" have invented the 
phrase "moral forgery; " they "felt constrained" to illustrate 
its application. 



30 



3.) 

What I did ivriie to Dr. Armshy, 
1856, May 26, marked "Pri- 
vate." 

About the Observatory we talked 
a good deal, and Mr. Bache agrees 
with me that to leave present occu- 
pations and begin a new course of 
life would be injudicious, unless 
there were full guaranty that the 
Institution would keep up its vigor 
and activity in case both Prof. 15. 
and I should be taken away. No 
man knows the dark and shadowy 
future, but we should so order our 
lives as to be prepared for it. With 
another at the head of the Coast 
Survey, this arrangement might not 
and probably would not continue; 
and the organization of the Dud- 
ley Observatory ought to be so 
thorough and permanent that were 
one director to die, the trustees 
should be prepared to fill his place 
with another^without deranging the 
activity of the work. This, as also 
the idea of accomplishing the maxi- 
mum work with given instruments, 
implies a permanent force of obser- 
vers and computers. 

The deliberate and total distortion of my meaning is sufficiently 
obvious upon the slightest inspection. The Accusers desired to 
represent me as an intriguer, so meddlesome that I must already 
busy myself about my successor. My real and evident object 
was to remind Dr. Armsby anew of the understanding and 
arrangement of the previous August, in regard to the endow- 
ment fund. 

( No. 4. ) 



(No, 

From the " Statement of the Trus- 
tees" p. 19. 

In a letter written on the 26th of 
May, he evinced his deep interest 
in the affairs of the Observatory, 
in a somewhat melancholy strain. 
He sighs for a "full guaranty that 
the Institution shall keep up its 
vigor and activity," in case both 
Prof. Bache and himself k 'be ta- 
ken away." He then proceeds in 
language which now seems to have 
been almost prophetic : 

" No man knows the dark and shad- 
owy future ; and the organization of the 
Dudley Observatory ought to be so 
thorough and permanent, that, were one 
Director to die, the Trustees should be 
prepared to Jill his place with another, 
without deranging the activity of the 
work," 



From the " Statement of the Trus- 
tees" ,p. 149. 

On the discovery of the Comet, 
Dr. Gould himself wrote that 

" It was a very pretty idea to give 
the comet the esteemed name of the 
excellent Mr. Olcott," 
But on more reflection, and proba- 
bly after conferring with his asso- 
ciates in the Scientific Council, it 
was found to be " entirely unwar- 



What I did ivrite in a Letter to 
Br. Peters, 1857, August 4. 

Translation. 

It is a pretty idea to give to the 
comet the honored name of the ex- 
cellent man. But since it is con- 
trary to all my theoretical principles 
to designate the comet otherwise 
than by its year and number, you 
must so arrange it that I do not 



31 

ranted by astronomical usage," and appear responsible for it. I am 
Dr. Gould, in his official capacity, willing to play dissembler a little in 
as editor of the Astronomical Jour- the matter, 
nal, although of course desirous of 
gratifying the feelings of Mr. Olcott, 
felt constrained to strike out the 
name of Olcott and call it the 
"Fourth Comet of 1857." 

( No. 5. ) 

From the " Statement of the Trus- From my real Letter to Dr. 
tees" p. 66. Armsby. 

So he [Dr. Peters] has had plenty "So he has plenty of experiences 
of experience. to relate, and little odds and ends of 

wisdom, picked up in various corners 
of the earth." 

The object of the alleged citation being to prove that I had 
indorsed this Dr. Peters, the motive of the slight change made 
by the authors will be readily comprehended. Their hero must 
by no means be confounded with Prof. C. A. F. Peters, the 
great astronomer of Altona, whose " laurels " have been assigned 
to this other gentleman on sundry occasions by my assailants, but 
who has not even kindred with him. 

3. Perversions. — Passing from these illustrations of what for 
euphemism I prefer to designate by the comparatively mild name 
of Garbling, I beg leave to add a couple of specimens of what 
I have called Perversions. Of these there are very many to 
select from, but two will here suffice. 

The first,— which is an attempt to excite prejudice against 
me, — may be found in the following passage from the " State- 
ment " of the Accusers, pages 32, 33 : 

" About this time the Trustees were preparing to issue the Inaugura- 
tion pamphlet. Dr. Gould being very desirous of having it entirely correct, 
wrote to amend Mr. Everett's spelling of certain names. He also requested, 
as a personal favor, that inasmuch as his own name was mentioned but 
twice in the oration, it might be entirely omitted ; or if that was not pos- 
sible, that it should be inserted simply as " Mr. Gould," as he did not 
desire to be identified in any manner with Mr. Everett, or to figure in the 
company of Mr. Everett's " heroes." The Trustees did not feel author- 
ized to make any changes in Mr Everett's oration at Dr. Gould's request, 
which was conveyed in the following letter : 

" To-day I saw Mr. Everett's authorized edition of his address, adver- 
tised in the papers, and procured one. I had supposed that the Boston 
edition was for private distribution. Glancing over it, I have seen allu- 
ions to myself, by name, twice ; once, page 15, and again, page 33, 



32 

note — and I will beg you earnestly, as a personal favor, to have it omit- 
ted in the Observatory edition, inasmuch as its publication there would 
be extremely unwelcome to me. Will you provide for it, and thus greatly 
oblige me ? If Mr. Everett's conscience does not permit him to omit the 
acknowledgment, page 33, which I would much prefer, the whole name 
might, at any rate, be abridged into plain « Mr. Gould.' I beg this 
earnestly, for it is a matter of feeling with me. 

" Do not forget, too, in the printing, that Herchel's name has but 
one I in it. It occurs pages 18, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44, 45. Two of his 
heroes, page 40, also have their names spelt wrong ; but the mistakes will 
not be recognized abroad, to the discredit of the Observatory, as the mis- 
spelling of Herchel's name could not fail to be." 

To say nothing of the meanness of dragging in this totally- 
irrelevant passage, simply to create, if possible, unkind feel- 
ings with Mr. Everett, — it is a curious case of perversion of the 
meaning of a transaction (of the most simple nature, when 
truthfully stated), by the dexterous insertion of a word here 
and there ; as also of the distortion of an author's meaning by 
the adroit use of italics. The true statement is as follows : 
Dr. Armsby had invited me to look to the printing, at Albany, 
of the Observatory pamphlet, published to commemorate the 
inauguration, and consisting chiefly of the learned and elegant 
oration of the Hon. Edward Everett. In the preliminary 
edition of this oration published for the author's distribution, 
there were typographical errors, to the correction of which 
I called attention in a strictly private letter. These are gra- 
tuitously called by the Accusers, " Mr. Everett's spelling," and 
a sneer is thrown at me as endeavoring to " amend Mr. Everett's 
spelling of certain names," — not hesitating thus to bring Mr. 
Everett before the public in a position which they intended 
should be an unpleasant one, for the mere purpose of making 
me responsible for it. The distortion of the fact is complete ; 
although, even had the erroneous form in which the names 
appeared, resulted from an oversight of Mr. Everett himself, 
I cannot see that their correction by me ought to form an 
occasion for either sneer or censure. Errors in the spelling of 
proper names are too common to be considered a very grave 
matter ; and my letter shows that the only anxiety I felt on the 
subject was, that in a publication for which the Observatory was 
to be responsible, an astronomical name so great and so familiar 



33 

in Europe as Herschel's should be given correctly. Again ; M 
a matter of good taste, I desired the omission of my own name 
in the Observatory edition of the address, the printing of which 
was to pass under my own eye. This is turned to my dis- 
credit by infamously fabricating and inserting in the text, as 
if it had been written by myself, the phrase, " inasmuch as 
his own name was mentioned but twice !" Motives, certainly 
not discreditable, are thus perverted into disreputable conceit; 
and a man who desires to have his name omitted entirely, 
to avoid parade, — or if it cannot be omitted, to write simply 
" Mr. Gould" as less likely to attract attention, — is held up 
as dissatisfied, "because his name appears " but twice I" The 
italics in the letter are not mine, but those of the Accusers ; 
and the letter is most " carelessly' 7 given, the phraseology 
being changed in several places. 

To make an apparent fling at Mr. Everett at my expense, they 
have also fabricated and inserted the words, u the misspelling 
of" as well as several others, which had no existence in the 
real letter. It was certainly from no unworthy motive that I 
desired not to be credited with the very slight and natural 
suggestion in regard to the date of Keppler's laws, which Mr. 
Everett, in his conscientious fairness, had mentioned as derived 
from me. The word " conscience " is italicized by the Accusers 
to give it the effect of a sneer ! It is sad that people should 
exist, who can only see an ignoble motive, in the most simple 
and well meant actions of men ! 

But there is still another infamous fabrication of matter 
and language imputed to me in the phrase, — "As he did not 
desire to be identified in any manner with Mr. Everett, or to 
figure in the company of Mr. Everett's ' heroes ! ? " No more 
malicious falsehood than this was ever uttered. No candid 
person, reading my letter by itself, would dream that the 
word " heroes " was used by me in an injurious or dispara- 
ging sense, either towards the persons named, or towards 
the orator who had named them. It was employed by me 
certainly without much thought, but as a short, convenient 



34 

and rather technical term, while referring to these names 
for a matter of business. Three of the six names referred to 
were Franklin, Henry, and Walker, — names which I shall 
hardly be suspected of wishing to treat with disrespect ; and 
it is no disparagement to the two gentlemen whose names were 
erroneously printed, to say that the spelling of HerschePs name 
is better known abroad than that of theirs. The name of 
Herschel is again twice misspelled in the Accusers' version of 
my letter ; but whether from ignorance on their part, or a 
desire to make me appear ignorant, I will not undertake to 
decide. 

As a matter of propriety, the Scientific Council have taken 
the liberty, elsewhere, to correct the very extraordinary errors 
of orthography, in the manuscript copies of Mr. Olcott's Mani- 
festo, and of the Resolutions of the Board, as transmitted to 
them by Dr. Armsby, Secretary ; and they trust that this 
course may not also be imputed to them as occasion for blame. 
To have given these as they were sent, would assuredly have 
exposed the Council to censure, and to the charge of petty 
malice. 

The other illustration of the perversions, which is selected 
from many equally striking ones for presentation in this place, 
is an attempt to excite prejudice against Professor Bache, and 
may be found on pages 22 and 23 of the " Statement" of the 
Nine, as follows : 

11 Early in August, the anxiety of Prof. Bache to give to the Observa- 
tory in every respect a national character, and to taVe from it all features 
of a local nature, induced him to hint at a change of name. " Dudley," 
was a simple family name ; " Albany," a comparatively small city. 
Neither suited his ambition, which was of course purely of a patriotic, 
unselfish character, and overshadowed those sentiments of personal grati- 
tude and esteem, which he could not fail to feel for the lady whose name 
it had taken, and the city whose liberality had raised it up. On the 11th 
of August, writing to Mr. Olcott, he says : 

" I hesitate to make suggestions to you, who have done so much, so nobly, and 
so wisely in this cause; but I should be recreant to the confidence you have shown 
in me, did I not ask you to consider the name of the Observatory, and all the 
consequences that may flow from it. The Dudley Observatory at Albany! You 
will see the train of thought that these names excite, and will follow it more clearly 
to its consequences, with your business precision of mind." 

That "train of thought" was followed out by Mr. Olcctt when, 
three days afterwards, on the 14th of August, having obtained from Mrs. 
Dudley the munificent donation of $50,000, he suggested and procured 



35 

to be inserted, in her letter to the Trustees, the closing paragraph, which 
reads as follows : 

11 For myself, I offer as my share of the required endowment, the sum 
of 850,000, in addition to the advances which I have already made ; and 
I trust that the name which you have given to the Observatory, may not 
be considered as an undeserved compliment, and that it will not diminish 
the public regard, by giving to the Institution a seemingly individual 
character." The Trustees are not aware that any attempt has since been 
made to change the name of the Dudley Observatory, at Albany /" " 

This attempt to infer a slight to the name of Dudley, and of 
Albany, from Prof. Bache's letter of Aug. 11 to Mr. Olcott, is a 
perversion which any clear-sighted person will readily detect 
without explanation. Still it is proper to call attention to the 
fact, that here as in most other cases, the quotation is not pre- 
cisely correct. Dr. Bache's letter did not say : 

11 Did I not ask you to consider the name of the Observatory and all 
the consequences that may flow from it ?" 

But he wrote : 

11 Did I not ask you to consider the name and location of the Observa- 
tory and all the consequences that flow from them?" 

Only by omitting the words " and location" and by changing 
the last three words of the sentence as written, into the last 
four of the quotation, could the Accusers maintain their perver- 
sion. The truth is as follows : — 

This passage is taken from that very letter of Prof. Bache in 
which he transmitted the letter and schedule of the Scientific 
Council, stating the sum necessary for the endowment of a first- 
class Observatory. It was written at Mr. Olcott's special 
request, in order that he might show it to Mrs. Dudley, and to 
prominent and wealthy citizens of Albany, for the express pur- 
pose of prompting to farther donations. From the letter so 
inclosed, Mrs. Dudley quotes in her own letter offering her 
$50,000 towards the endowment. It is a new interpretation by 
Mr. Olcott that Prof. Bache undertook "to hint at a change of 
name " (Qu. of location also ?) of the Observatory 7 . Any sensi- 
ble man, even though he had not procured the letter to be 
written, would have inferred from it precisely what the writer 
intended ; and would have " followed out " " that train of 
thought " precisely as Mr. Olcott acknowledges that he did, 



36 

although he evidently intends that his acknowledgement should 
be taken as ironical. 

And did not the letter produce its intended effect? Did not 
Mr. Olcott use it to prompt farther donations ? Does not Mrs. 
Dudley, in announcing her gift, quote from the official letter of 
the Council, which this unofficial one of Dr. Bache was written 
to inclose? To any one who had not examined the whole 
character of this ' : Statement/ 7 it would be wonderful that its 
authors could attempt thus to pervert the construction of a 
letter which Mr. Olcott had himself solicited, and which he so 
plainly understood when he received it. 

With these few illustrations of the Falsehoods, G-arblings and 
Perversions, I dismiss here the unwelcome consideration of so 
painful a subject. In the Second Part of this Reply, it will be my 
duty to expose them individually. All present purposes are 
fulfilled by exhibiting the wicked falseness which pervades and 
characterizes the book. 

There is another point to which, under circumstances of less 
extraordinary untruthfulness, it would be proper to direct 
especial attention, viz : the dishonest perversion and distortion 
of my meaning in the passages which they quote, by the unwar- 
ranted use of italics. By a dexterous employment of this 
means of changing the emphasis, the most unwarranted and 
incorrect meaning is constantly given by the authors of the 
" Statement " to their extracts from letters. It deserves the 
severest reprehension. Truthful and honorable men would be 
incapable of it. But it is so small a fraud in comparison with 
others which they have systematically committed that I pass it 
by, merely adding, what I trust however, it is unnecessary for 
me to add, that in the passsages cited in the Reply, no italics or 
capitals are either inserted or omitted, unless the reader is 
especially informed of the circumstance. 

CHAPTER IV. 

OBSERVATORY RELATIONS AND HISTORY PRIOR TO THE YEAR 1858. 

It is of course necessary to afford the reader a clear under- 
standing, both of my personal relations towards the Trustees 
of the Observatory, and of those of the Scientific Council. 



37 

The nature of these relations, previous to the compact of 
December, was essentially different from that subsequent to 
this date ; and though the latter period was broken in upon by 
the violation of faith on the part of Mr. Olcott, particularly in 
the transaction of the 9th of January, 1858, it may yet be 
treated as a whole, as regards our true relations, and the 
transaction referred to be considered by itself. 

As already intimated, the plan of this Reply contemplates, in 
the First Part, remarks general in their nature, and, in answer, 
not so much to the individual accusations and misrepresenta- 
tions of the " Statement of the Trustees," as to the spirit of their 
pamphlet, and their really important charges. In the Second 
Part I propose to give a full, detailed and satisfactory reply to 
their book, page by page, and point by point, in order that 
none, not even the most trivial, of their false accusations be 
left unanswered. 

I therefore proceed to a narrative of Observatory affairs prior 
to December, 1857, and to an explanation of the position which 
the Scientific Council and myself occupied in reference to the 
institution during the period which closed with the compact of 
December. This being done, I propose to offer a similar his- 
tory of affairs since that time. 

My first knowledge of an Observatory in Albany, was con- 
veyed in a letter from my friend, the late Sears C. Walker, 
written in October, 1852, from which I make the following 

extract : 

Cincinnati, Oct. 21st, 1852. 

" Mitchel, , and myself telegraphed to you to come on at once to 

Cincinnati. We have had no answer, or had not yesterday. 

M I will now put the whole matter of the Albany Observatory before 
you. The Albanians have had an intention of getting up a great central 
university, with an Observatory. To the best of my knowledge the plan 
of a great university is abandoned for the present ; the Observatory design 
is persevered in. They have subscribed a fund of $25,000 for the pur- 
pose. Mitchel, you know, has been very active and influential in lectur- 
ing and urging this scheme, intending to have an honorable and lucrative 
post as its Director. I believe he has been chosen already, and accepted. 
In short, a good portion of the subscriptions, not yet paid in, are solely on 
the condition that Mitchel shall have charge of it. Mitchel cannot resign 
the nominal directorship without releasing these subscribers of the fund 
from paying up their instalments. Such is the present plight. 

II Meantime, our friend Mitchel, not content with being the Director of 
two Observatories, half a thousand miles apart, must also engage as engi- 



^"" 



38 

neer and financial agent of the Great Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, 
one of the most extensive in the United States. Having thus three 
strings to his bow, he has concluded, very wisely, to use the strongest and 
turn engineer, for a year or two, and sink the astronomer. For this pur- 
pose, and to relieve himself from the active duties of the Albany Observa- 
tory, he has gone to Albany, and informed them of the impossibility of 
his giving them his personal labors for a year or two ; yet he must retain 
the nominal directorship, in order to clinch the subscriptions. The ques- 
tion now came up of appointing a working man, to reside at Albany, and 
do Mitchel's active duty. He agreed to waive all claim to pecuniary 
compensation in favor of the working man. The Albanians then fixed the 
compensation of the working man at — per annum, commencing on 
appointment. The next question was the selection among the candidates. 

The Albanians recommended two persons ; I believe both from . One 

is our friend, Mr. , who is a fine scholar and mathematician. . . 

The other candidate, I forget his name, is unknown to astronomy. 
Mitchel immediately vetoed both these astronomers, nominated you, and 

said that if the men were appointed he would leave the establishment 

altogether. He believed them very respectable scholars, but not the. 
men for this enterprise. The Albanians agreed with Mitchel, and the 
letter written to you by Mitchel was in their presence, and with their 
cordial approbation. 

" Now, my friend, I have thought the whole matter over, and if I were 
of your age, I would accept. You will be Director de facto, at once, 
and nominally in a year or two after the subscriptions are paid. You 
may rely on it, Mitchel will never act as its Director, and only waits to 
see it organized, and resign. Your pay, — at first, will, I presume, be 
raised ; for the Albanians are determined to do something handsome. 
I have no doubt but that the Legislature will lend a helping hand. It 
is the best opening now in the country before us. Mitchel wishes a 
personal interview with you here, that we three may decide upon the plan 
of the building. I have no doubt that our plan would be adopted by the 
Albanians, and the work would commence on a proper system. 

11 Mitchel gave them a ground-plan for the building, and they employed 
an architect to make drawings for the superstructure. This, though 
architecturally beautiful, is not astronomical, convenient or useful, and 
must be rejected, and the wants of the astronomer not postponed to wishes 
of the architect. I should, on this account, be glad of the interview. 
Mitchel goes to St. Louis on Monday next, for a fortnight, and will be in 
the field on the line. Unless you move in the matter there is danger that 
Mitchel will give it up, and that the Albanians and their appointee will 
almost spoil it." 

Although of course gratified at the indications of regard and 
confidence thus manifested by Messrs. Walker and Mitchel, I 
was unwilling to accept the invitation, which was subsequently 
renewed by Prof. Mitchel more than once. Towards this gentle- 
man my relations have always been of the pleasantest and most 
friendly character, and I am not aware that a breath or suspicion 
of unkindness had passed between him and myself, previous to 



39 

the astounding declaration of Mr. Olcott in June, that my 
11 personal relations " were " such as to {preclude the hope of 
concert and co-operation " with him. I had hoped that he 
■would feel called upon publicly to contradict this false assertion. 

In declining the invitation of Prof. Mitchel in 1852, and the 
still kinder one in August, 1853, in which he intimated his 
friendly readiness to resign in my favor, I was influenced simply 
by strong individual preferences, these motives being the same 
in February last, as they were six, five and three years ago. 
They would have been disregarded at the call of duty to my 
science, and not otherwise. Only when the preservation of the 
Observatory as a scientific institution hung upon the issue, did 
I decide to adopt a new home for the sake of averting what I 
regarded, and still regard as a national calamity — the degrada- 
tion of a prominent and representative scientific institution, from 
an object of solicitous care into a means for unworthy private 
ends in the hands of a few persons, to whom the state by un- 
witting legislation committed it, as a trust. 

In the autumn of 1854, overtures were again indirectly made 
to me ; coming this time, not from Prof. Mitchel, but from the 
active Trustees, as I supposed then and believe now, though 
conveyed to me by a common friend. These overtures led to a 
correspondence, which, — although the letters were not marked 
either " private " or " confidential," and would certainly not 
help Mr. Olcott and his co-adjutors before the public — I will 
not publish. Were it my custom to betray confidence, the 
temptation might be strong. But I will only make one quota- 
tion, and from a passage in no way confidential. 

A letter written 1854, Dec. 8, to me in Columbia, S. C, 
transmitting a ground plan of the Observatory, furnished by 
Dr. Armsby for the purpose, says : 

" I believe every thing has been done as well as it could be done, 
without an astronomer to superintend it. . . They will give you the 
Observatory and seven acres of ground in fee, if you will come here and 
live." 

This flattering offer was declined with many thanks, and an 
avowal of my unwillingness to give any pledge to remain for 
any stipulated term of years. 



40 

In the ensuing April (1855), the subject was again brought 
up with many details. I was informed that Prof. Mitchel had 
again visited Albany, but had afforded no real encouragement 
for the hope that he would take personal charge, although he 
had decided to transfer his residence to the Eastern States. 
My reply was the same as before. 

In August of the same year, during the meeting of the 

American Association for the Advancement of Science, the agent 

of the Trustees of the Observatory (Dr. J. H. Armsby) 

approached Professor Bache, and, in the plausible and smooth 

way for which he is noted, described to him the stagnant and 

effete condition of the Observatory enterprise, and the good 

which might be done, if he and others would take an interest 

in its scientific direction. Professor Peirce, who was engaged 

upon the problem of longitudes by occultations, and who had 

called Professor Bache's attention to the use of the Pleiades, 

renewing the recommendations of Walker and of Bessel, advised 

the use of a Heliometer for triangulating the Pleiades, if one 

could be procured. Dr. Armsby undertook that means should 

be raised for this purpose. Professor Bache requiring some 

guaranty in this matter, Dr. Armsby went to Newport to find 

Mr. J. Y. L. Pruyn; and at a later day gave Professor Bache 

the impression that this gentleman had given such a guaranty, 

not of course in its commercial sense, but a declaration of his 

conviction that the money could and would be raised. Upon 

this Professor Bache agreed to furnish a transit instrument, 

from among those in use in the Survey, and an observer for the 

Heliometer. This promise in so many words is in writing, and 

fulfilled in advance, although the Heliometer has not yet been 

provided. And now the President of the Trustees has actually 

applied to the Secretary of the Treasury, at Washington, to 

order the transit instrument mounted at the telegraph station, 

the instrument promised and furnished by Professor Bache, to 

be removed. He has also applied for the removal of the larger 

instrument which is in the Observatory building. His letter 

is on file in the Treasury Department. 



41 

The attempt to make this appear as an official connection 
between the Coast Survey and the Dudley Observatory, is very 
forced. As well might it be alleged that the Coast Survey is 
connected with the Cambridge Observatory because Mr. Bond 
reports the occultations and moon-culminations observed by 
him, or with the Cincinnati Observatory because Professor 
Mitchel does the same ! In fact these latter-named arrange- 
ments are the closer, for observations are actually furnished 
and paid for by Coast Survey funds, and in the case of the 
Cambridge Observatory, have been so for years ; whereas the 
heliometer is yet uncompleted, and no observer has therefore 
been needed under this agreement. 

There was still another way in which the Observatory might 
be made useful to the Coast Survey, and the Survey thus be 
warranted in aiding the Observatory. The accurate determi- 
nation of its position might be made extremely serviceable for 
the geodetic triangulation of the Hudson river, which is in 
progress under the Coast Survey ; and it was thus in the power 
of the Superintendent to render great aid to the young institu- 
tion, by selecting it as a point of the triangulation of the upper 
Hudson, and by determining its position, in order to connect this 
with the lower work. As preliminary to this, he authorized 
me to station an aid in Albany, who, while carrying on other 
and independent Coast Survey work, should make, under 
detailed instruction, an approximate determination of the geogra- 
phical position of the Observatory, watching at the same time 
the general progress of construction to see that no serious 
mistake was committed. Upon my application the Superin- 
tendent attached Dr. Peters to my party for this purpose ; and 
he was provided in 1856 with the promised transit-instrument, 
and with a zenith telescope for making these observations. 
They were made by him and paid for ; but he has not delivered 
them, although the property of the United States. The ques- 
tion arose, at one time, whether a proper sense of official duty 
did not require that he should be compelled to surrender them ; 
but it was judged, upon examination, that the work could be 
reproduced at less trouble than would be occasioned by an 
enforcement of the laws. 
4 



42 

As the relations between the Coast Survey and the Observa- 
tory have been made the subject of much elaborate mystifica- 
tion, and as the very men whose enterprise the Superintendent 
was thus anxious to aid, by every legitimate means, have in 
their anger and malice now caused him to be publicly attacked 
for having aided them, it has appeared well to give a plain 
statement of the case. 

Even these relations were materially modified by the com- 
pact of December, although the Managers caused the majority, 
in ratifying this compact, insidiously to insert language which 
might imply that some official connection existed. This interpo- 
lated language, although then supposed by Prof. Bache and my- 
self to have been the result of carelessness rather than fraud, 
rendered a distinct disavowal necessary upon the part of Prof. 
Bache, who made the following statement to the Scientific 
Council at the meeting in Philadelphia, Feb. 6, 1858. 

" Prof. Bache stated that, in his capacity of Superintendent of the 
U. S. Coast Survey, it had seemed to him possible, by stationing the Tele- 
graph party at Albany, (where their duties could, as far he was at present 
advised, be satisfactorily executed,) that he could afford the incidental facility 
of the services of the Chief of the party as Director of the Observatory, 
and of his aids as assistants, to be given at such time and in such manner 
as would not interfere in any degree with the time to be employed as offi- 
cers of the U. S. Coast Survey ; — that he could make the longitude obser- 
vations required by the State of New- York for connecting the Dudley 
Observatory with New York city, and also by the Coast Survey for con- 
necting the stations of triangulations of the upper and lower Hudson, the 
expense being borne by the State of New York, and the work done by the 
salaried officers, and by the instruments of the Coast Survey ; and that 
when the Dudley heliometer was completed, the use of it might be mutually 
beneficial to the Observatory and the Coast Survey, in triangulating the 
Pleiades with reference to their use in longitude determinations, — an 
investigation equally important to the progress of Astronomy, and to the 
execution of the law relating to the Coast Survey ; — and that he was desi- 
rous in this and every other proper and lawful way, and also by giving 
any portion of his time, knowledge, or effort, not required in the dis- 
charge of his official duties as Superintendent of the Coast Survey, to 
advance astronomical science in the United States. 

This statement (the same in substance as that given by Prof. 
Bache to the Trustees, at their meeting in January, previous to 
their vote of ratification) was ordered by the Council to be placed 
upon their minutes. A resolution was passed, putting upon the 
records of the Council the fact, that the written acceptance by 
Dr. Bache of Mr. Olcott's proposition was made by him as that 



43 

member of the Council to whom the written proposition had 
been addressed, and had no relation to his capacity as Super- 
intendent of the U. S. Coast Survey; and Prof. Henry was 
appointed a committee to call the attention of the Trustees to 
the proceedings of the meeting. 

Yet these men now endeavor, on page 50 of their so-called 
" Statement," to make me appear guilty of falsehood, because 
I said in November, 1857, that I " regarded the Observatory 
as in the hands of the Coast Survey," and in June, 1858, denied 
that there was then any official connection between the two 
institutions. And they do it, too, in the face of the exposure 
of this identical falsehood of Mr. Olcott, which is made by the 
Council in § 23 of the " Defence." 

The labored attempt to give apparent complication to those 
very simple relations, has led me to dwell upon them in more 
detail than would otherwise have been the case, in order to 
preclude all possibility of farther misrepresentation; although 
it has thus become necessary to anticipate in some degree the 
regular course of the narrative. 

The original arrangement with Prof. Bache, was made on or 
about the 22d day of August, 1855, and after repeated consulta- 
tions with Prof. Peirce and myself. Meantime Dr. Armsby (with 
whom I then first became acquainted), appealed to me with great 
earnestness to undertake the charge of the Observatory, in the 
two-fold capacity of a Coast Survey officer, under this arrange- 
ment, when the Heliometer should have been provided ; and 
of Director of the Observatory under the the Board of Trus- 
tees, receiving salary in each capacity. This complimentary 
proposition I declined. He also appealed to Professors Bache 
and Peirce to use their influence with me in aid of this project ; 
and I consented ultimately to render every assistance consistent 
with other duties, towards fitting the Observatory for useful- 
ness, with the understanding that this aid was to be unofficial 
and gratuitous, and upon the express condition that no such 
services should be regarded as implying any promise whatever, 
that I would ever move to Albany. 

Soon after returning home from Providence I received, at 
Cambridge, from Dr. Armsby, in Albany, both by letter and by 



44 

telegraph, an earnest entreaty to visit Albany on the ensuing 
day. Prof. Henry, then on a visit to Cambridge, consenting to 
accompany me, I replied in the affirmative, and thus visited 
Albany for the first time on the 3d of September, 1855. 

Dr. Armsby received us at the railroad station and conducted 
us to his house, where we found a company already assembled, 
consisting, as we were told, of the Trustees and friends of the 
Observatory. Without opportunity to rest from the long jour- 
ney of ten hours, we were soon ushered into the meeting, and, 
after half an hour passed in general conversation, were requested 
to address the company, and after much persuasion, reluctantly 
complied. Prof. Henry spoke of his gratification at re-visiting 
his birth-place to take part in steps preliminary to establishing 
a scientific institution, and encouraged his hearers to the good 
work, in which he would be proud to aid them to the best of 
his ability. I described the nature and use of a Heliometer, 
and of a Meridian-circle, and spoke at length on the importance 
of accurate, careful measurements rather than of the contem- 
plation of physical peculiarities, provided the object in view 
was the advancement of astronomy. I dwelt upon the natural 
popular tendency to mistake the purpose of an Observatory, 
and to attribute importance rather to those results which excite 
the emotions, than to the careful, toilsome, but less showy 
labors upon which the furtherance of science is entirely 
dependent. If these Trustees now complain that I have sought 
to make the Dudley Observatory a place for careful, unostenta- 
tious investigation', rather than an exhibition of brilliant-looking 
instruments and curious contrivances, they cannot complain 
that they were not warned in season of my views. 

Our remarks were followed by addresses from citizens of 
Albany, and great enthusiasm seemed to prevail. A number of 
gentlemen retired to an inner room, where they remained for 
some time. This being the first occasion upon which I had seen 
or known them, their names and persons are not now within 
the reach of my memory ; but three of them I distinctly remem- 
ber as being among the present Trustees. After the lapse of 
some little time these gentlemen re-appeared, and we were told 



45 

that a meeting of the Board had been held, and that Messrs. 
Henry, Bache, Peirce and Gould had been elected the Scientific 
Council of the Observatory. Subsequently, on another occasion, 
the record book of the Trustees was shown me by the secretary, 
Dr. Armsby, with a formal record of the meeting, and of the 
appointment of this Scientific Council. Twenty-eight months 
later, it was discovered that this appointment had been 
"informal," and the Board in pretending to ratify and confirm 
the election of the Council availed themselves of the oppor- 
tunity to pass a series of resolutions, upon which the present 
theory of an entire change of their functions might be based, 
by declaring the Council a purely " advisory" corps, — no longer 
the Scientific Council of the Observatory, but the Scientific 
Council of the Trustees ! 

Is it imagined or pretended that the four members of the 
Council would have pledged themselves for the proper conduct 
of the institution ; staked their reputations on its success, and 
labored with such increasing assiduity, if their functions were 
" purely advisory," and the Trustees were at liberty to reverse 
and cancel all their acts and thwart all their plans ? The very 
statement of the case shows how untenable is such a hypothesis. 
The time and energies of these men were not to be consumed in 
such hopeless labors. 

No, the functions of the Scientific Council were from the first 
distinctly defined, although we unfortunately demanded no 
written bond. They were proposed by Dr. Armsby, indorsed 
Toy Mr. Olcott, continually reiterated by both of these gentle- 
men for more than two years ; unhesitatingly and confidingly 
accepted by the members of the Council. The financial affairs 
were to be in the hands of the Trustees ; the scientific affairs 
in the hands of the Council. When told that the Board was 
in session, was it for us to inquire whether the members had 
been regularly notified ? When told that we had been elected 
Council, and that our functions were distinctly prescribed, was 
it for us to inquire whether our informants, whom we saw 
exercising complete authority, and whom we had no reason to 
distrust, were speaking the truth? When invested with cer- 



46 

tain authority by these men, were we to doubt their right to 
confer it and investigate the laws of the State ? Was it for us 
to demand the written bond, when we had the plighted word, 
of men whom we supposed honorable and true? Yet the 
Managers claimed in January, 1858, that our appointment in 
September, 1855, had been informal, that the alleged meeting 
of the Board at that time was unreal; and in professing to 
" ratify and confirm " this " informal appointment 77 they under- 
took to declare our functions purely " advisory. 77 By thus 
asserting their own deeds to have been illegal and unauthorized, 
although for more than twenty-eight months they had not only 
allowed us to believe them correct, but had themselves 
plainly acknowledged them such, — they attempted to make this 
alleged past illegality or informality of their own a means of 
abridging the powers bestowed upon us. But since, by another 
resolution of the same series, passed at the same meeting, the 
Observatory was placed anew under the supervision of the 
Council, it was, for reasons already stated, deemed unadvisa- 
ble to take exception to the language. I may add in pass- 
ing, that even the language of these resolutions seems to 
have been since altered by the authors of the " Statement " 
to make their own case appear stronger. 

I have strong and convincing reason to believe that the resolu- 
tions and acts of the Board, and of its Executive Committee 
have more than once appeared upon the records in a very 
different form from that in which they were passed by the 
meeting ; and it is by no means certain that the record of the 
appointment of the Scientific Council, in September, 1855, now 
stands upon the books of the Trustees. 

And now, notwithstanding the constantly renewed and con- 
tinually reiterated protestations of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby 
individually, and as the supposed Executive Committee, clothed, 
as they said, with full powers, that the scientific operations 
were and should be exclusively in our charge and control, and 
the financial operations theirs alone; notwithstanding the 
whole series of acts, official and otherwise, by both parties, all 
based on this agreement, they have endeavored both to deprive 



47 

us of the scientific management, and to hold us, or rather my- 
self, the accredited representative of the Council, responsible 
for the financial mismanagement, as well as for the delays in 
execution. The endeavor is preposterous and futile. 

We did not solicit our appointment, and were induced to 
accept it only on the repeated assurances of the Executive 
Committee of the Board of Trustees, that the money could be 
raised if we would lend our names to the project, and that we 
should have the entire scientific management of the Observa- 
tory. We had no personal interest in the enterprise ; our time 
and thoughts were sufficiently occupied with the duties of our 
respective offices : on the one hand, little honor could accrue to 
us individually from the appointment ; and, on the other, we 
were liable to the censure which might result from a failure. 
Our only reason for engaging in it was a desire to advance the 
science of our country, and especially to assist in promoting 
that branch of science in which we were personally interested. 
We were not willing to engage blindly in such a scheme; for 
we knew, by experience, the uncertainty which attends efforts 
of this kind, especially in the United States ; and we feared 
new illustrations of the tendency to undertake great projects 
without due consideration, and of the ease with which great 
promises may be followed by small performances, or, indeed, by 
entire failure. We were well aware of the injury to the cause of 
knowledge which such abortive attempts inevitably entail, not 
merely by involving the loss of time and thought, and the mis- 
direction of money, but by occasioning a loss of public confi- 
dence in the possibility of establishing and creditably main- 
taining institutions of this class. 

We stated, therefore, to the committee who made us the 
overtures, that the funds requisite for the mere completion of 
the building and purchase of the instruments were by no means 
sufficient, but that means ought to be provided for an annual 
income of twelve thousand dollars for the support of the 
astronomers and other necessary expenses of the Observatory, 
and that the annual outlay could be restricted to ten thousand 
dollars, only by means of close economy and gratuitous aid. In 



48 

reply, we were informed that an excellent beginning had been 
made, an appropriate site presented by Gen. Yan Rensselaer, a 
building erected, and that it was positively certain, that, by 
the aid of our names and influence, the endowment could be 
fully obtained. Placing entire confidence in the representations 
of gentlemen who gave us these assurances, — relying upon their 
standing, their financial ability, and their unwearied industry, — 
we yielded to their solicitations ; we embarked with trustful- 
ness and zeal in the undertaking, and gave the Trustees our 
hearty and united co-operation. Although they gave us no 
formal record of our appointment by the Board of Trustees, 
nor any written notification of the terms on which it was con- 
ferred, yet it was stated by the Executive Committee, repeat- 
edly and from the first, and was distinctly understood by us, 
that we were to have the entire scientific control, while they 
were to furnish the necessary means, and to have charge of the 
financial affairs. It was on these conditions alone that we 
could in any way have connection with the enterprise, or 
encourage it. We were confident, from our experience in 
scientific matters, that if sufficient money could be provided, 
and the scientific control of the Observatory given to us, we 
should be able so to direct it as to produce results of acknowl- 
edged value in astronomy, which would confer honor upon the 
city of Albany and the whole country. Though, from their late 
declarations, and still later acts, the Trustees have denied all 
this, I assert it in the most emphatic manner. 

It is due to myself and to my associates in the Scientific 
Council to say that in the commencement and continuance of 
our early intercourse with the Trustees of the Observatory, we 
did not suppose ourselves required to use commercial suspicion 
or caution in our dealings with them. The maxims which gov- 
ern the buyer and seller were apparently unnecessary for our 
case. We did not imagine that any difference of interest could 
arise, or that it was possible that the shrewd cunning of prac- 
tical men of business could be employed against us. We trust- 
ed to the honor of those we thought our friends, and implicitly 
placed ourselves in their hands. We are now fully aware of 



49 

our error in this respect, but willingly leave " the Trustees " 
all the advantage they can derive from their sharp practice. 

Should this statement not be regarded as sufficient, I beg to 
refer to the evidence which will be found by reference to the 
Second Part of this Reply. 

Within the next ten days after my first visit to Albany, I 
had consented, at the urgent instance of Messrs. Olcott and 
Armsby, (not " offered " as the Accusers falsely allege) to 
visit Europe to contract for the construction of the heliometer 
and meridian circle. My leave of absence was of course at the 
discretion of my superior officer, Prof. JBache, and — far from 
applying for it, — my consent, contingent upon his approval, was 
given with the distinct and sincere expression of the belief 
that this approval would not be given. It was given upon the 
application of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby; and in compliance 
with my promise I went, — leaving home, Sept. 21, provided 
w T ith authority and means from the Trustees to contract for a 
heliometer, a meridian-circle and a clock, although, after full 
consideration, I did not enter upon any contract for the first- 
named instrument. Apart from the time, thought and study 
which the proposed modifications of the instruments cost, I 
devoted three months to the expedition, and on my return asked 
and received only such portion of my expenses as seemed to 
me the simple equivalent of the necessary cost of the passages 
and journey, without including my extra expenses of travel 
and living abroad. The time was of course considered as part 
of my contribution to the Observatory. 

The Accusers in their narrative say, pages 11 and 12 : 

"It is but justice to state that these expenses were commendably 
moderate, being scarcely one hundred dollars more than the expenses of 
Mr. Gravit or Mr. Spencer, who afterwards spent the same time in Europe, 
and traveled over the same ground, at the charge of the Trustees." 

Were this indirect fling based upon truth, how ungrateful it 
would be! But it is as false as it is contemptible. (See Part 
II, § 13.) 

In this connection I must also call attention to one mis-state- 
ment of the Trustees, repeated directly or impliedly many 



50 

times throughout the book, viz : that the Meridian-circle is the 
gift of Mr. Olcott. To support this mis-statement, the majority 
of the Trustees have, in a second edition of the inauguration- 
pamphlet published in June last, so mutilated my address as 
to make me assert the same. 

On the 30th of December, 1855, I reached home again, and 
within two days hastened to Albany to give account of the 
results of the expedition, which met the strongly expressed 
approval of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby. In addition to this 
detailed report to these gentlemen, I afterwards gave as full an 
account as possible, at a large social gathering of the friends of 
the Observatory, assembled at Mrs. Dudley's house, and 
announced at the same time that the construction of the Helio- 
meter would be intrusted to Mr. Spencer, of Canastota, a 
decision at which Mr. Olcott, Dr. Armsby and myself had 
unanimously arrived a few hours earlier. 

Official duties and engagements of long standing, the fulfil- 
ment of which had been delayed by the European expedition, 
compelled me to visit the Gulf Coast without delay, and to 
remain in New Orleans until the close of March. Before leav- 
ing Albany, I assured Messrs. Olcott and Armsby of my con- 
tinued and earnest co-operation, cordially and gladly rendered 
in the stead of pecuniary contributions, and promised to guide 
and direct, to the best of my ability, the preparations of the 
building and the organization of the institution. With these 
assurances, however, was coupled the condition, previously 
insisted on when leaving for Europe, that no amount of labor 
or exertion on my part should be interpreted as a pledge, how- 
ever implied or indirect, that I would assume the ultimate 
guidance and directorship. 

To this they gave ready assent, and subsequently, from time 
to time, this stipulation was made and acknowledged anew ; as 
frequently, indeed, as seemed possible, without trenching too 
far upon the boundaries of modesty and delicacy. It was far- 
ther distinctly understood between the supposed Executive 
Committee and myself, that my province was to point out the 
scientific needs and requirements, the adaptations necessary 



51 

for the building, the construction of the necessary apparatus 
and fixtures, while all matters of a financial character were to 
be assumed and taken in charge by them, both as regarded the 
raising and the disbursing of money, and as pertained to limits 
of proper and warrantable expenditure. My mental constitu- 
tion precluded me from joining them in their honorable efforts 
toward the raising of money, a labor which, under the circum- 
stances, could by no means properly devolve upon me ; for the 
expenditures, I assured them that practical financial skill and 
presence upon the spot were alike desirable. The force of 
these views was felt by the Managers, and they fully acceded 
to this understanding. 

Lastly I made the urgent request, as a personal favor, that, 
other than as one of the four members of the Scientific Coun- 
cil, my name should not be brought prominently forward in 
connection with the Observatory, farther than might be requisite 
to insure full responsibility for the proper fulfilment of the duties 
undertaken and obligations incurred ; inasmuch as such promi- 
nence without a public disavowal might easily be construed 
into an implied pledge to assume the full charge of the institu- 
tion when ready for actual operation. This request met a cor- 
dial compliance; and since that date my time, efforts, thoughts, 
faculties and purse, have been at the service of the Dudley 
Observatory, without measure or stint. Whenever it was inti- 
mated that my presence in Albany would be desirable, I 
instantly hastened thither; and in the absence of such intima- 
tions was there as often as opportunity permitted. 

The Observatory building had been constructed with a view 
to work of a different class, and upon a different scale, from 
what was now contemplated. Moreover, before any instru- 
ments could be mounted, it would be necessary to place the 
large piers upon which they must rest. Shutters of elaborate 
and difficult mechanism were rendered necessary by the large 
size of the meridian-rooms. Collimator-piers were needed for 
the Meridian-circle ; and the contour of the grounds on the north 
and south, and the elevation of the main floor of the building, 
precluded any idea of placing them in separate structures with- 



52 

out great expense, as well as danger of unsteadiness. Appli- 
ances for rotating the heavy dome were necessary; and the 
construction of machinery for opening and closing it offered a 
problem of extreme difficulty. The setting of the piers them- 
selves with the needed precision could only be accomplished by 
means of contrivances planned for the purpose. Besides all this, 
were to be devised and constructed apparatus for indicating 
uniform sidereal time throughout the building, for the chrono- 
graphic registration of transits, for the adjustment of mean 
time, and for giving telegraphic time-signals to railroads and 
distant cities. The plans for the heliometer were to be decided 
on, after Mr. Spencer should have prepared the material ; books 
were to be provided and all the other necessary apparatus and 
implements of labor devised. 

The first practical step was the preparation of the room in 
the east wing, designed for the reception of the Meridian-circle. 
The telescope of the Circle being 10 feet long and the room 
itself but 23, so that there would not be room enough to take out 
the telescope for reversal, I decided upon a semi-circular addition 
of six feet radius on the south, and a bow upon the north as 
nearly similar as the structure of the building allowed. These 
additions would give to the room a meridian length of 35 feet, 
allowing space for collimator-piers, and ample room for revers- 
ing the circle. On the other hand the difficulty and expense of 
arranging the shutters for the meridian-apertures would be 
greatly augmented. In this connection I endeavored to impress 
upon the gentlemen in charge that symmetry in an edifice was 
not indispensable for elegance and grace; cited the strongly 
expressed opinion of the Astronomer Royal of England that 
attempts at symmetry were especially undesirable in an obser- 
vatory ; and, among other reasons, showed that every new instru- 
ment would require some addition or modification to the structure 
and that these could be freely made only when no considera- 
tions of mere symmetry tended to interfere with the purely 
scientific end desired. 

In spite of these strongly urged views, the unnecessary 
semi-circular addition to the west wing was insisted on ; and 



53 

despite the protestations of the assistant, whom, by permission 
of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, I had stationed in the 
building in July, 1856, the rear walls of both wings were immedi- 
ately torn down, and the curved additions on the north subse- 
quently built to both. The demolition of the north and south 
walls of the west wing was not only in opposition to my appeals, 
but without my knowledge until beyond remedy. It would of 
course have been necessary to break through some part of the 
wall at some time, in order to introduce the piers ; but this 
would have been but a small piece of mason work comparatively, 
and soon completed. The north and south walls of both 
wings were taken down in the month of July, 1856, and the 
rooms long remained entirely open to the weather. The west 
wing was closed about the end of the year, and the east wing- 
presented the aspect of a ruin until the circle-piers were set, in 
February, 1857. Of course I had not allowed so utter a disregard 
of my wishes and views to pass without protest, but had 
energetically remonstrated and called attention to the fact 
that I should doubtless be held responsible by the public. My 
remonstrances and complaints were addressed to that one of the 
Executive Committee, (Dr. Armsby), who gave his immediate 
attention to matters of executive detail. He assured me that 
the error was due to misunderstanding on the part of the 
mechanics employed, and begged me to dismiss the subject 
from my mind ; since, however wrong the proceeding might 
have been, it had arisen from misapprehension only. I pointed 
to my letters, reminded him of my remonstrances, of the fruit- 
less interventions of my assistant, &c, but yielded ultimately to 
his earnest appeals to let the matter pass without farther 
remark. Above all he begged me not to mention it to his 
colleague, (Mr. Olcott), who was busily occupied with weightier 
matters in behalf of the Observatory, — since he being nominally, 
as Dr. Armsby expressed it, though not actually responsible, 
it would be a source of annoyance to him. Farthermore, it 
was most desirable, he said, that I should make no public 
disavowal, since this would interfere with the interests and 
prospects of the Observatory, by rendering citizens unwilling 



54 

to contribute to an institution in danger of suffering from 
divided counsels. To these solicitations I yielded. Subse- 
quently I found reason to believe that the changes had been 
made at the instigation of the identical person who had made 
these urgent appeals. 

Meantime the plans, for the different parts of the building 
and its machinery, went on. It was my good fortune to enlist 
in the enterprise the ingenuity of Mr. Hodgins, then assistant in 
the office of the architect, but whom the Executive Committee 
authorized me to employ independently in behalf of the 
Observatory, and whose fertility of invention and knowledge of 
engineering have been of the highest service. 

The ceremonies of Inauguration of the Observatory took 
place at the close of the session of the American Association 
for the Advancement of Science, in August, 1856, and are still 
fresh in the memory of the friends of the institution. 

I will not dwell upon details, but may allude in passing to a 
single experience more, as illustrative of many others, and capa- 
ble of aiding the reader to understand the nature of my rela- 
tions, and the character of my embarrassments. When the large 
piers for the circle arrived, which was only after long delay 
and continued importunity, it was discovered, not only that 
their form was not in conformity with the plans furnished by 
me, but that a corner of the base of one had been broken off, 
bolted on with metal, and the seam concealed by a cement of 
the same color with the stone. When or how this took place, 
or who is responsible, I did not know until very recently. In 
opposition to my earnest advice, these piers were accepted and 
paid for. It was of course impossible to make the broken one 
available ; — I was informed that the. owners of the quarry 
declined to contract for another, until they should have actually 
found a stone of the size and form desired j — winter was close 
at hand, the Observatory open and exposed, and the end walls 
of the wing entirely without other support than their own 
cohesion ; and it was therefore decided to order the piers from 
another part of the State. Another quarry was found, of stone, 
which though not equal to the former, was adjudged satisfactory 



55 

after consultation with an eminent geologist of Albany, as to 
its lithological character. The circle-piers were finally placed 
and the closing of the walls commenced, in March, 1857. 

These illustrations are given merely as specimens of the 
annoyance and trials to which I was continually subject, but 
which for the sake of the institution, I concealed from all except 
the Scientific Council and one or two of my other trusted friends. 

Thus the work dragged on. There was no urgent need of 
haste on account of the scientific operations, since it was a 
matter of agreement that the activity of the Observatory should 
not commence until a proper endowment had been secured ; and, 
far from this desirable and important end having been attained, 
all the donations except Mrs. Dudley's large one seemed, so far 
as I could ascertain, to be expended nearly or quite as fast as 
made. My remonstrances were necessarily clothed in a some- 
what delicate form. As one whose labors for the Observatory 
had been neither small nor few, as one who had made large 
sacrifices of personal interests to the welfare of the institution, 
as one who against his earnest efforts had been publicly brought 
forward in connection with the new enterprise, and who could 
not fail to be considered more or less responsible before the 
world, I had the right to remonstrate and it was my duty to do 
so. But from all other points of view, such an interference with 
the functions of the Executive Committee would have been 
officious in the extreme. Messrs. Olcott and Armsby were 
seemingly entitled to reply, — as the latter did more than once, — 
that I was forgetting my legitimate province, and that such 
considerations were for them, not for me. But I did remon- 
strate and protest most earnestly against the continual violation 
of the plans which I had laid out, and the constant disregard 
of my directions in my absence ; — a disregard which convinced 
me, at an early date, that the empty dazzle of temporary show 
was, in the wishes of the managing Trustees, paramount to any 
ideas of scientific usefulness or dignity. My appeals were 
responded to by promises, but followed by no real change of 
policy. Finally the plans, drawings and directions being com- 
plete, I abandoned early in the summer of 1857, all attempt at 
supervision of their actual execution. 



56 

These protests on my part formed the only interruption 
of " Harmony V which occurred in any form, however slight, prior 
to November, 1857. With Mr. Olcott there was no such inter- 
ruption, and though Dr. Armsby manifested some impatience 
once or twice at my attempts to check his course, I regarded 
this impatience as natural to a man of his temperament, and as 
being essentially short-lived. Not till sometime afterwards did I 
suspect that his impatience of control was accompanied by a 
deep-seated rancor, which permitted no forgiveness of any who 
might attempt to restrain his crude schemes — schemes as absurd 
in point of judgement, discretion and economy, as they were 
fantastic and opposed to every principle of good taste. 

The first real discord was manifested in November, 1857. 
Prof. Bache having in June, 1856, decided that the Observatory 
should be a station in the Hudson River triangulation, and 
authorized me, as already related, to station one of my aids there, 
and having at my request attached Dr. Peters to my party, that 
I might be enabled to detail him for this purpose, — I had in July 
stationed him in Albany, where he was charged with a divided 
duty between Professor Peirce and myself, in the Coast Survey 
service. Under the direction of the former he had a series of 
occultations of the Pleiades to compute, while he was intrusted 
with various measurements and determinations under mine. For 
more than a year he resided at Albany for this purpose, until — his 
functions being in a manner fulfilled, and it being desirable that 
his work under Professor Peirce should be under more thorough 
supervision, — he was detached from my party again, that he 
might resume his original position at Cambridge. Dr. Peters 
resented these instructions in an offensive manner ; and, finding 
the Superintendent indisposed to accept the dictation of a sub- 
ordinate, resigned his position upon the Coast Survey in anger. 
Application was immediately made to me by Mr. Olcott to appoint 
him to a position under me in the Observatory, independent of 
the Coast Survey, but of course I declined doing so under the 
circumstances. Professor Bache was appealed to, to permit him 
to recall his resignation, but declined taking any step unless 
Dr. Peters would signify a willingness to obey orders. This 



57 

led to a protracted correspondence between Mr. Olcott and 
Professor Bache on the one hand, and Mr. Olcott and myself on 
the other ; during which it was discovered that Dr. Peters had 
been ambitious of securing to himself an independent position 
in the Observatory, by which it was to be diverted from its grand 
design to those more showy uses which Messrs. Olcott and 
Armsby so much desired ; and — in conjunction with Dr. Armsby, 
who was restive under my constant though gentle opposition to 
his wild and crude schemes, and who was therefore in the mood 
to co-operate with him — had for a long time been engaged in a 
series of intrigues for the accomplishment of his object. 

Dr. Peters was deeply bound to me by every tie that can bind 
a soul susceptible of gratitude. He was much older than 
myself, and had never been made to feel the relations which 
generally exist between subordinate and principal, in the arbi- 
trary assignment of duties and giving of orders. I had refrained 
from any allusion even, to circumstances in his past career with 
which I assumed that he knew me to be acquainted. When a 
stranger and destitute, I had received him in my home, although 
no bond existed but a three days' acquaintance, ten years ago; 
had provided him with occupation, both official and private, — 
the latter more than liberally compensated ; had reposed in 
him implicit confidence, and trusted my cherished plans to his 
keeping. That he could knowingly injure me, whatever the 
temptation, I held to be among the impossibilities. It is true 
I received warnings from numerous European friends who were 
acquainted with his past career, among them men of position 
unsurpassed among living scientists, — men whose names would 
surprise the reader, were it pardonable in me to betray the 
confidence which they have reposed. But in my simplicity I 
believed these men to be mistaken and prejudiced, and Peters 
to be the injured victim which he loved to portray himself. 
The Truth dawned upon me very slowly, for I was unwilling 
to receive it. Loyalty to the service in which I was engaged, 
precluded me from rewarding disaffection and insubordination; 
discretion forbade me to trust the man farther ; propriety and 
5 



58 

duty alike withheld me from exhibiting to other assistants an 
example of faithlessness successful, and the authority of our 
own official chief insulted. Despite continued importunities, I 
refused to appoint him assistant, if other Coast Survey employ- 
ees were to be brought in contact with him. This refusal was 
followed by a series of most offensive, bitter and calumnious 
attacks through the Albany papers, anonymously. I disregarded 
them except so far as to investigate their authorship, which I 
found reason to attribute to the joint efforts of Messrs. Peters 
and Armsby. Dr. Peters's connection with the Coast Survey 
had ceased ; yet he still remained in the Observatory building, 
where a room had been provided for him, at my request, more 
than a year previous. 

At this stage of the matter I visited Albany about the 
middle of December, 1857, and held a long conference, 
December 18, with Mr. Olcott. He referred to what he 
called an "outside pressure" in favor of Dr. Peters, and 
urgently insisted upon his appointment. He also told me 
that the funds of the Observatory had become so impaired 
that even the donation of Mrs. Dudley had been seriously 
encroached upon ; that the income of two or three years would 
be needed to restore it to its original amount of $50,000; that 
the other donations had been mainly expended, and that the 
Observatory would be dependent for the coming year upon the 
appropriation of $2000 made by the Legislature for determin- 
ing the longitude, which sum had been promised to the Trus- 
tees; that this appropriation was absolutely secure, whole 
and available, having been intended by the Legislature as 
a contribution to the Observatory, and obtained avowedly 
for this purpose ; and that it could be drawn at any time he 
desired,provided that the good will of* the Regents was 
retained; that no immediate determination of the longitude 
was necessary, but that the law would be so construed that the 
making of astronomical observations competent to afford an 
approximate determination of the position of the Observatory 
would be regarded as a determination of the " true meridian/' 
and authorize the payment by the State to the Observatory at 
once ; that he was unwilling to call upon me to make the 



59 

additional sacrifices which a removal to Albany would entail, 
but that if I would appoint Dr. Peters assistant under me, and 
retain the direction of affairs while residing in Cambridge, 
this $2000 could readily be drawn for the purpose of paying 
his salary for three years, at the expiration of which time Mrs. 
Dudley's donation of $50,000 would be again whole ; that if 
I were willing to remove to Albany and take immediate con- 
trol of the Observatory as soon as the dwelling house should 
be habitable, he would still provide that this fund should be 
available for Dr. Peters's salary, if I would appoint him, but 
otherwise, that he should hold me to my recent suggestion of 
putting two assistants in his place. And in the latter case, 
should it be necessary to make an actual determination of the 
longitude, any surplus which might remain after such deter- 
mination, would be available for the general expenses of the 
Observatory. 

Upon my courteously but firmly declining to appoint Peters, 
provided any farther aid was to be expected from Prof. Bache, 
Mr. Olcott finally went so far as to intimate that, rather than have 
Peters leave the Observatory, he would dispense with Coast Sur- 
vey aid altogether. He stated that unless I was willing to come 
in person, he could see no means of satisfying the community, 
which, he professed to believe, was clamorous for Peters. I 
assured him that the officers of the Coast Survey were anxious 
to do all which could be done in the legitimate exercise of their 
proper functions, and would certainly continue to contribute 
what they could towards the advancement of the institution, 
although in no manner bound until the heliometer should be 
completed, or by any other considerations than patriotism and 
the welfare of the science on which the Survey is depend- 
ent, but said that I did not think the Superintendent would 
place other aids at the Observatory to act with one who had 
been guilty of gross disobedience of orders. I finally agreed to 
station two assistants in Albany instead of one, subject to the 
decision of the Superintendent, and asking a short delay for 
consultation with him and the Scientific Council, left imme- 
diately for Washington to confer with Prof. Bache in that city, 
and to present a report to the Council. 



60 

On the ensuing day Mr. Olcott addressed a letter to Professor 
Bache purporting to give the results of our conference, the 
essential parts of which letter were as follows : 

"Dr. Gould left us last evening to visit you. Three arrangements were 
discussed with Dr. Gould, as he will have informed you. 1st. Dr. Gould 
to remove to Albany as his residence, and with two assistants appointed 
by him or yourself, to take the entire charge of the Observatory ; mount 
and use the instruments, and under the Scientific Council to be responsible 
for the scientific character of the Institution. We should expect to furnish 
the few hundred dollars necessary for mountiug instruments and furnishing 
the indispensable equipments. But the donation of Mrs. Dudley not to be 
encroached upon, beyond what has already been done, which may consume 
its next two years income. 

Secondly, Dr. Gould to take charge as above, with Dr. Peters under 
him, the salary of the latter to be paid by Observatory. 

Thirdly^ Dr. Gould to render such services here as may be required for 
mounting the instruments, and then exercise a general supervision from 
Cambridge, with Dr. Peters (paid by us) and two assistants from your 
department in the Observatory — until we secure an endowment commen- 
surate with our aims, and that enlarged and commanding position which 
Dr. Gould may desire before giving it his personal attention, and com- 
mitting his own reputation for its scientific success, with the understanding 
that we would welcome him with open arms, whenever he would signify 
his willingness to come on and take charge. 

If the first proposition, which is broad and full, and which I think 
embraces our mutual obligations to each other, is to be postponed, then 
the second proposition which was suggested by Dr. Gould we readily assent 
to. But we frankly confess that we prefer the third if the first is not 
accepted 

We have entire confidence in the pre-eminent ability of our Scientific 
Council, and we only ask to be allowed to do that, which will not only 
gratify our own feelings, but harmonize a threatened dissatisfaction among 
ourselves, and perhaps thwart a more insidious, extensive and adverse com- 
bination which in its influence either upon you or us would be mutually dis- 
astrous. If driven from our association with you, we shall be upon the 
ocean without a star to guide, or compass to direct, our course, and we 
have no idea where in such an event we should land. We cannot but regard 
such an event as a blow to our most cherished individual regards, and not 
less so, to the science of our country." 

The strange contents of this letter first opened my eyes to the 
true character of Mr. Olcott, and to the objects which he had 
in view; regarding the motives I say nothing at present. My 
colleagues of the Scientific Council agreed with me that an 
unpleasant and dangerous crisis was impending, and the ques- 
tion was seriously discussed whether we could abandon our 
position as scientific sponsors, consistently with our duty to 



61 

science and those pledges to the donors upon which a large por- 
tion of the contributions to the Observatory had been made. We 
ultimately and reluctantly arrived at the conviction that we 
could not ; and I then determined to make the necessary per- 
sonal sacrifice to save the Observatory, if possible. I returned 
forthwith to Albany, and Dec. 22, accepted Mr. Olcott's first 
proposition without reserve, agreed to sunder every tie that 
bound me to birth-place and home, — parting from a companion- 
ship than which I asked no better, from friends to whom my 
heart was bound as with links of steel, from all the scenes and 
memories of childhood, — to take charge of the Observatory 
without salary, and with the prospect that large demands upon 
my own resources might be requisite for carrying it on ; and I 
promised to remove to Albany as soon as the dwelling house 
should be ready for occupation. Prof. Bache also wrote to 
Mr. Olcott, in behalf of the Council, accepting his first propo- 
sition, and wrote to me, offering, in behalf of the Coast Survey, 
to determine the longitude of the Observatory, by connecting 
it telegraphically with the system of longitude stations, already 
accurately determined ; provided only that the actual outlays, 
which this would entail, and which he estimated at about $600, 
should be furnished him. Thus the services of all the salaried 
assistants and computers, and the use of all the apparatus and 
instruments, would be gratuitously furnished, and — while the 
work would be done with the highest precision known to 
science, and in a manner which would otherwise be impossible 
for a much larger amount, and the State would obtain results 
for the two thousand dollars already voted, — the Observatory 
would not only obtain them gratuitously, but receive all the 
surplus of the appropriation above the actual outlays of the 
field operations, as a fund towards defraying the current 
expenses ; at the same time that the Coast Survey would be 
relieved from the outlays entailed by the field operations, in 
obtaining data required for the triangulation of the Hudson 
river. 

Mr. Olcott, to whom I immediately made known the offer, 
expressed himself highly delighted with this arrangement, by 



62 

which, as will readily be seen, all parties were to be gainers, 
except the telegraphic longitude party of the Coast Survey — 
my own corps — who were to assume these additional labors 
without recompense. 

In making his proposition, and in our acceptance of it, Mr. 
Olcott never supposed that my whole time was to be given, or 
that of my assistants; for he well knew the onerous nature of 
my Coast Survey duties, as well as the fact that although glad 
to labor gratuitously for the Observatory, it was necessary 
for me to earn the means of livelihood. So too, with the 
assistants ; such time was to be given to the Observatory as 
was possible without conflicting with other and imperative 
duties. On the same day of my return to Albany, December 22, 
Mr. Toomer, one of my aids, arrived in Albany, in conformity 
with a telegraphic dispatch which I sent him from Washington, 
in order to take Dr. Peters's place. After several courteous 
and amicable interviews with Mr. Olcott, I left, December 24, for 
Cambridge, promising to come in person as soon as the premi- 
ses should be ready. Mr. Olcott suggested that to save Dr.. 
Peters's feelings Mr. Toomer should remain for a day or two at 
a hotel, until Dr. Peters could surrender his apartment at the 
Observatory without the appearance of coercion. This was 
quite in conformity with my own views and wishes, and I 
assented at once. Notwithstanding this, I was soon again 
appealed to by Mr. Olcott to appoint Dr. Peters. I had pledged 
myself to remove to Albany and take charge of the Observatory, 
in addition to my regular duties in the Coast Survey, and with- 
out remuneration of any kind, with an endowment only one-third 
that which had been considered indispensable before the active 
operations should commence, and with every dollar of the income 
of this fund mortgaged for at least two years, in consequence of 
expenses, of which a considerable part had been made in oppo- 
sition to my known views ; and, though the step involved great 
personal sacrifice, yet, rather than the institution, upon which 
so much was to depend for the future of American science, should 
be destroyed or perverted to ignoble uses, I had not hesitated 
to .accept Mr. Olcott r s proposition ; and now I was met by this 



63 

very application again, and on the pretended ground that a 
strong feeling had grown up in the community in favor of Dr. 
Peters, and that his separation from the Observatory would be 
so much regretted as to interfere with farther donations. This 
new application was courteously and respectfully, but firmly 
declined. Still, it was again repeated, on the ensuing day, and 
I then agreed to submit the case to the Scientific Council, and 
to be guided by their decision. This decision was strongly in 
the negative. 

Some weeks had passed and Dr. Peters showed no signs of 
leaving the Observatory. Mr. Toomer had kindly offered to 
aid him in bringing up certain arrears of work, an offer which 
was accepted and generously fulfilled. Still Dr. Peters remained 
at the Observatory, and Mr. Toomer at a hotel; the former 
assigning various reasons and apologies from time to time 
for his delay, — the chief of which was that he expected soon 
to leave town in order to take part in a Mexican Survey 
upon which he had obtained an appointment; and that his 
removal to lodgings in the city would be attended with 
considerable expense. Mr. Toomer, though himself still 
compelled to remain at the hotel, accepted these apologies 
with great readiness, and delicately refrained from doing or 
saying aught which might jar upon Peters's feelings. Mean- 
time Dr. Peters was, as it is now known, busily employed in 
traducing him, and published in the newspapers a letter full of 
offensive and insulting insinuations regarding myself and the 
Scientific Council. 

At last, after more than two weeks had elapsed since the 
agreement, and five weeks since Dr. Peters had left the Coast 
Survey service, I deemed it my duty to interfere. On the 6th 
of January— being informed that he shewed no signs of surrender- 
ing the Observatory to Mr. Toomer, and moreover had unpacked 
his books, and provided a winter's supply of coal, — I decided, 
after conference with a member of the Council, to visit Albany 
again, and, in justice to Mr. Toomer, fix some definite day for 
him to take possession. On arriving Jan. 7, 1 addressed Dr. Peters 
a very civil note, inquiring what time it would be convenient for 



64 

him to surrender his apartments in the Observatory building, 
and asking a reply by the bearer. Previous to sending this 
note, however, I addressed another to Mr. Olcott, informing him 
of the step which I proposed taking. No reply from Dr. Peters 
came for some hours; but, finally, a note was received from 
him, bearing the Observatory imprint, and reading as follows : 

11 Sir — I have remained since the 1st of December last in the Observa- 
tory, at the request of the Trustees, and shall leave when the Trustees 
request me to do so." 

Being aware that no meeting of the Trustees had been held 
for practical business for some years, and knowing that Dr. 
Peters had visited Mr. Olcott since the reception of my note, 
the case became suddenly clear to me. I saw to what an extent 
the Council and myself had been deceived, and saw, too, that 
the mask was now to be thrown aside. Without farther action I 
left on the same day for Washington, to consult with Professors 
Bache and Henry; and, soon after my arrival there, received a 
telegraphic dispatch, informing me that the papers announced 
the election of Dr. Peters, by the Trustees, as " Observer." This 
flagrant violation of the compact, already made and acted upon, 
formed the climax of Mr. Olcott's treachery, and left no room 
for doubt as to the manner of men with whom we unfortunately 
had to deal. 

It afterwards appeared that on the very next day, Jan. 8th, 
a memorial addressed to the Trustees, asking that Dr. Peters 
be appointed an " observer," was extensively circulated by Dr. 
Armsby, and by a gentleman at his request, and many signatures 
of prominent citizens obtained to it. There is good reason to 
believe that this memorial was drawn up by Mr. Olcott himself; 
certainly all the influence which he could exert was applied to 
obtain signatures for it, and many were obtained by false rep- 
resentations on his part. In illustration of this, I may refer to 
the letter of Hon. J. V. L. Pruyn, who has publicly recounted 
his experience, and the manner in which his signature was 
obtained. 

Of the persons whose names are there appended, two are 
among the signers of the "Statement;" five more have volun- 
tarily informed me that their signatures were obtained by 



65 

misrepresentations, and it^is certain that a large number of 
others affixed their names under a total misapprehension of the 
nature of the document, and a reprehensible concealment of 
the facts of the case, if, indeed, the document now published 
be the one which they signed — a point upon which I have no 
information, but regarding which the character of the "State- 
ment" would naturally lead to suspicion. It is a curious fact 
that three of the four gentlemen whose names are especially 
selected by the Accusers, as having then coincided in opinion 
with Mr. Olcott, had not only discovered that they had 
been made the victims of deception, but had demanded the 
withdrawal of their names, within a few days after their signa- 
tures had been affixed. Yet they are not only published eight 
months afterwards by the Accusers, but are specially named in 
the " Statement," in order to convict these gentlemen of incon- 
sistency ! 

Upon the receipt of the telegraphic dispatch above mentioned, 
Prof. Henry immediately left Washington for Albany, and I re- 
turned to Cambridge, unwilling again to be brought into contact 
with men so different from any whom I had ever previously known. 
On my arrival I found that Professor Peirce had also of his own 
accord repaired to Albany ; astonished at the breach of faith, 
and believing that some real misapprehension must underlie it 
all. On the ensuing day, dispatches from Albany summoned 
Professor Bache and myself to join our colleagues. We found 
the city flooded with calumnies of every kind, traceable in many 
instances, and uniformly, when traceable at all, to Drs. Armsby 
and Peters. The relations of the Coast Survey to the Observa- 
tory were grossly misrepresented, and strong efforts made to 
excite jealousy or. suspicion of what was called the grasping 
and ambitious policy of the superintendent, who desired to 
subject the Observatory to his own dictation ; and to arouse 
hostility and odium against myself, whose jealousy, it was said, 
had expelled the accomplished and inoffensive Peters, because he 
had discovered a comet. Garbled and falsified extracts from 
my letters analogous to those of the " Statement of the Trus- 



tees," had also been circulated by Messrs. Armsby and Wilder. 
We learned from the President of the Board, General Van 
Rensselaer, and from other members, that the alleged election 
of Peters as "an observer" had no foundation in fact, and 
that the opposition in the Board to such a step had been so 
strenuous that the question had not even been put to vote. Still 
we severally received official communications from the Secretary, 
informing us not only that Peters had been elected, but that 
the election was unanimous ! And we were told by members 
of the Board, that they were entirely unaware of the arrange- 
ments already entered upon between Mr. Olcott in behalf of the 
Trustees, and the Council, — although under these arrangements 
action had been taken on both sides prior to this meeting ; — and 
that no information whatever, on the subject of the existing 
contract, had been given to the Board. 

Let it be remembered that the meeting of the Trustees 
held January 9, was called upon application of Mr. Olcott, 
who based his action upon the memorial above mentioned, and 
in great part fraudulently obtained ; and that at the meeting, 
the independent appointment of Dr. Peters was advocated 
mainly by Messrs. Olcott and Armsby. Probably no mem- 
ber of the Board at this time, except these two, understood the 
flagrant violation of faith and of solemn compact which this 
course would involve, nor the insult which it implied to the 
Scientific Council ; yet from a general sense of decorum and 
propriety it was earnestly opposed, especially by the President, 
General Van Rensselaer, and by Messrs. E. P. Prentice and 
Bliphalet Wickes. 

Under these circumstances Professors Henry and Peirce 
addressed a letter to the President, requesting him to con- 
vene the Trustees, with a view to personal conference. This 
he did, and on the 16th of January a meeting was held, at 
which each of the Council in turn addressed the Board. It is 
to this meeting that allusion is made by the majority in their 
Second Attack, (p. 61,) and in the alleged speech of Mr. Wilder. 

Regarding my own remarks and action upon that occasion 
the Accusers give very contradictory accounts. One is (p. 61) : 



67 

" He finally concluded to justify himself with the Council, and to 
attempt to retain a good position with a majority of the Trustees, by 
endeavoring to place in a false position one of the latter," [Dr. Armsby.] 

A second is, (p. 63) : 

11 Dr. Gould concluded his remarks by pledging himself to action, for 
the future, and to an earnest endeavor to promote harmony, and the pros- 
perity of the Institution ; and by begging the members of the Board to 
'give him their votes.' " 

A third is, (p. 65) : 

11 You all remember the intemperate outburst of Dr. Gould when allud- 
ing to Dr. Peters, asserting his incompetence, and dealing largely in per- 
sonal vituperation, all savoring more of the petulance of an irascible and 
pedantic school-master, than the calm dignity which should distinguish the 
savan and the scientist. So marked and noticeable was the eruption, that 
some of his more politic colleagues, by expostulatory waving of their 
hands and soothing entreaties, calmed him into something like a respecta- 
ble equanimity." 

A fourth is, (p. 79) : 

" Occupying a position which he had but just obtained at the hands of 
the Trustees, and that, too, not without the most humiliating importunity." 

and, (p. 83) : 

11 The humiliating struggle which it had cost him to retain his position, 
was not forgotten." 

Now, no one of these statements or innuendoes is true ! I care- 
fully avoided all allusion to Dr. Peters, not even mentioning his 
name. I neither " indulged in denunciation," nor was signaled to, 
nor entreated by my colleagues, nor did I attempt to justify myself 
to anybody, nor did I " humiliate" myself to the Trustees, nor 
did I ask for " their votes," which I neither desired nor received. 
I gave a narrative to the Board of what I had been doing for 
more than two years in behalf of the institution, claiming no 
credit, but allowing the members to draw their own inferences. 
Then, for the first time, I publicly avowed the difficulties with 
which I had been struggling, owing to the interference with my 
plans ; doing this, however, as kindly as was possible under the 
circumstances, and giving but a small part of the whole truth. 
Finally I stated that I had now found the newspapers teeming 
with anonymous abuse, and learned that the city was filled 
with calumnies ; end I called upon any member of the Board 
who knew or had heard of anything discreditable, or improper 



68 

on my part, to let me know the accusation, in order that I might 
refute it. Not a man answered. And, after the meeting, I had 
the gratification of receiving the praise and congratulations of 
each of my colleagues, for what they considered my forbear- 
ance under provocation, and self-restraint under trying cir- 
cumstances. 

Prof. Bache spoke last, having reached the city during the 
meeting, and been conducted from the railroad station to the 
room where we were already in conference, — arriving soon after 
I had begun to speak. 

He recapitulated the nature of the past relations of the Coast 
Survey with the Dudley Observatory, and the reward which it 
was now reaping; the labors of the Council in behalf of the 
Observatory ; their sense of the return made for their earnest 
devotion ; he produced and read Mr. Olcott's letter of Dec. 1 9th, 
with its ungenerous propositions, and described my instant and 
complete acceptance of the first one, spoken of by the writer as 
the one "which I think embraces our mutual obligations to each 
other." The effect upon the Board was most striking and not 
easily to be forgotten. Amazement was depicted upon almost 
every countenance. The confusion of Mr. Olcott was palpable. 
The letter was passed from hand to hand, and after the Council 
took their leave the Board adjourned without action. 

Three days after, on the 19th of January, 1858, the Board 
met and ratified the compact. It must not be forgotten that 
the first preamble, as given in the "Statement," p. 68, reciting 1 
a resolution of the Board, of January 9, is here interpolated by 
the authors of the pamphlet, and that the very suggestive word 
" such," which they have actually printed in small capitals in 
their first resolution, M as such Scientific Council^ was here sub- 
stituted for the word "a," as the resolution was originally 
passed, or at least as it was communicated by Dr. Armsby to 
each member of the Council. This substitution, though care- 
fully made by the Accusers, on pages 68 and 151, was accidentally 
omitted by them on page 123, — where the resolution stands as 
it was passed. 

They also introduced, for motives now evident, two clauses 



69 

into the ratification which, if bearing the meaning since 
attempted to be put upon them, were a recital of pretended 
facts, false in themselves, and were designed to mystify and 
pervert the true meaning of the compact. Annexed is their 
resolution of ratification, with these sentences italicized : 

'■'•Resolved, That the Board of Trustees ratify the proposition of Mr. 
Olcott, on behalf of the Trustees, which has been accepted by Prof. Bache, 
of the U. S. Coast Survey. That the Observatory, under the supervision 
of the Scientific Council, shall be immediately placed in operation, and in 
charge of Dr. B. A. Gould, Jr., and his assistants, in ike employ and pay 
of the United States Coast Survey" 

When it is borne in mind, that the letter of Mr. Olcott made 
no allusion to the Coast Survey whatever ; that Professor Bache, 
in his remarks before the Board, had stated the nature of the 
past services rendered by the Survey, — services which had 
been so ill-requited by the Executive Committee ; had alluded 
to the misrepresentations sown so broadcast; and expressly 
declared that he had not committed and should not commit the 
Coast Survey to any official connection with the Observatory, 
while he was yet happy to afford his personal aid to the best 
of his ability, — the implication of the clause "in the employ 
and pay of the U. S. Coast Survey" will be better appreciated. 

Mr. Olcott was perfectly aware of the nature of the services 
which were to be rendered by myself and by my assistants, 
and every conference and discussion was based upon full 
mutual understanding of this point. For five years I had been 
in charge of the telegraphic determinations of longitude by the 
U. S. Coast Survey — upon this position my subsistence depended, 
I was willing to give to the Dudley Observatory all the time 
and strength compatible with the proper discharge of my official 
duties, and so were several of my aids. More than this was 
never promised; nor did Mr. Olcott's proposition imply it. 
None of the time to be given to the Observatory by myself and 
aids was to be Coast Survey time ; but, on the contrary, it was 
to be only what we could give without interfering with our 
regular duties in that service. 



CHAPTER Y. 

OBSERVATORY RELATIONS AND HISTORY DURING THE YEAR 1858. 

Let us now survey the condition of affairs at the commence- 
ment of this new epoch in the history of the Observatory, and 
review the transactions of December and January. 

Previous to the compact of December, Mr. Olcott had 
insisted that Dr. Peters should be retained at the Observatory 
after his separation from the Coast Survey, in spite of his 
unworthy conduct towards Prof. Bache and myself; in spite 
of his disregard of all the decorum due to official relations ; 
in spite of the demoralization which such a course would tend 
to produce upon any who might be associated with him; in 
spite of his detention of the observations for which he had 
been paid and supplied with instruments by the Coast Survey ; 
and in spite of his dishonorable intrigues. 

My position had thus been rendered extremely embarrassing. 
On the one hand a compliance with this requirement would 
have been injudicious in the highest degree, and from every 
point of view would have been offensive and insulting to the 
Superintendent, who was at once my superior officer and my 
honored friend. It would have been opposed to the interests of 
the Observatory, and would necessarily have deprived it of 
such incidental aid as the Coast Survey might be able to render. 
I had also discovered that by insidious misrepresentations, 
while enjoying my entire confidence, Dr. Peters had alienated 
the sympathies of more than one of my friends. And — although 
I had no personal quarrel with him, and bore him no ill will, 
but was, on the contrary, ready to aid and help him to an 
extent which now surprises myself- — I could not but feel that 
any farther connection would be unlikely to produce agreeable 
relations with one whom I had ceased to respect, and who must 
be well aware of my full knowledge of his course. On the other 
hand, any refusal on my part would imply an indisposition to 
gratify Mr. Olcott, who had been among the most active in his 
exertions to obtain donations for the Observatory, and in his 
efforts to promote its establishment. 



71 

After long and full reflection I arrived at the conclusion that 
it would be entirely wrong to assent to the application; but 
that it might be possible both to make such new arrangements 
as should show Mr. Olcott that I was influenced by no con- 
sideration except the real welfare of the Observatory, and to 
convince him that it would be unlikely to succeed unless those 
having the scientific direction were allowed to select assistants 
who possessed their confidence and regard. 

In a conversation with Mr. Olcott, Dec. 18, I set forth these 
principles as already stated, and received the reply already 
described. 

The extraordinary declarations of Mr. Olcott, relative to the 
available funds of the institution — declarations which I had 
subsequent reason to believe were exaggerated — and his very 
remarkable propositions founded upon them, astonished me 
so much that I declined giving any reply, but asked a short 
time for consideration, and for consultation with my colleagues 
of the Scientific Council, before assuming the responsibility 
of assenting to either of these schemes. 

I hastened to Washington at once, and prepared a report 
to the Council, which was presented December 21. On the 
same day arrived the letter of December 19, from Mr. Olcott 
to Prof. Bache, in which our conversation was so strangely 
distorted and misrepresented, and which first betrayed to me 
the true character of its author. 

The reader who will turn back to this letter, will observe not 
only the distortion of our conversation, but also the delicate 
intimation or threat of a possible rupture, conveyed -in the lat- 
ter part of the letter as quoted; the peculiar significance of 
which becomes very palpable in the events which promptly 
followed, in the violent attacks, — through the. public press, and 
by copious pamphlets, — upon the four scientific men, just before 
so strong in the " entire confidence " of the Managers, but 
whose characters became so transmuted by their failure to 
fall in with Mr. Olcott's personal plans and intrigues. 

The reception of Mr. Olcott's letter preceded by a few hours 
he presentation of my report to the Council, — a report which I 



12 

have used to some extent in the preparation of this narrative, and 
which closed with the declaration on my part that I was "ready 
to accept Mr. Olcott's first proposition, without proviso, requir- 
ing only a few weeks' time to make every preparation, and 
deeming any personal sacrifice slight in comparison with the 
failure of a noble institution, or the failure to fulfil pledges 
incurred, no matter under what misunderstanding." 

I returned to Albany and personally accepted Mr. Olcott's 
first proposition, "pure and simple." Prof. Bache also replied, 
as already stated, to Mr. Olcott's written letter, and informed 
him officially that the Council, on their part, accepted the 
arrangement first named by him. Both parties acted at once 
upon the arrangement, which became in honor, justice and 
law, a finality. Under it, one of my assistants was forthwith 
stationed at Albany; and Mr. Olcott was informed, both orally 
and in writing, that he had only to announce that the estab- 
lishment was ready, and I should at once remove to Albany, 
in person, accompanied by still other assistants. 

Then began that course of deception, treachery and violated 
faith, which has characterized the proceedings of the Managers 
since that time. Messrs. Olcott and Armsby expressed their grat- 
ification, promised their co-operation, and began their intrigues. 

A movement, already alluded to, was almost immediately 
set on foot by them, to produce the appearance of, and 
as far as possible also to create, that very state of feeling in 
the community which they had represented as existing in 
behalf of Dr. Peters, and which it was their favorite policy to 
harp upon. For an illustration of this course, I beg again to 
refer to the public letter of Mr. John V. L. Pruyn. By false 
representations, as already mentioned, signatures were obtain- 
ed to the document, drawn up at the procurement of Mr. 
Olcott, and which is published upon pages 55 and 56 of the 
"Statement" of the Accusers. 

It is proper to repeat here that although Dr. Peters's resig- 
nation took effect December 1, 1 had invited him to consult his 
own convenience as to the time of his removal, and even so 
late as December 23, (although Mr. Toomer had already arrived 



73 

to take his place in the Observatory building,) I had instantly 
acceded to Mr. Olcott's suggestion that he should remain a few 
days longer in the occupancy "to avoid the appearance of a 
dismissal." Early in December I had offered him assistance of 
the most "material" kind; and when, on my return, December 
24, to Cambridge, I found a request to nominate some one for a 
position, quite within Dr. Peters's line, in conformity with his 
known tastes, and with a salary more than double that of the 
position in Mexico which he had told me he intended accept- 
ing, I immediately wrote him the letter given on page 54 of 
the " Statement." Of other circumstances connected with this 
letter, I shall speak in the Second Part. Unlike most of the 
quotations given in the "Statement," it is essentially as writ- 
ten, excepting the italics. This kindly meant act is distorted 
by the signers of the pamphlet into an act of meanness, and 
into a manoeuvre to get rid of him. On the second day after 
writing this letter, I received an Albany newspaper containing 
a public letter of Dr. Peters filled with bitter and insulting 
innuendoes, aimed at myself and the Council. This was his 
first overt act. I did not resent it ; nor have I ever resented 
or noticed in any manner, direct or indirect, any one of the 
long series of insulting documents which have since emanated 
from him. My last act towards him, like the first and all 
intervening ones, was an act of kindness. My sole offence 
was the refusal to appoint him an assistant, under the circum- 
stances already detailed. Contrary to the assertions of the Ac- 
cusers throughout their book, — I have not " denounced" him at 
all, nor is any " denunciation " necessary. A narrative suffices. 
The Council, pursuant to their adjournment, reassembled at 
Philadelphia, on the 6th of February. During their January 
visit to Albany, they had earnestly devoted themselves to the 
work of re-establishing harmonious relations. Dr. Armsby had 
expressed contrition for the part he had played towards me, 
had been freely forgiven, and had promised his best efforts for 
co-operation and support. The same promises had been made 
by Mr. Olcott, with an emphasis which led us again to believe 
him sincere. Any act or word, however slight intrinsically, 
6 



74 

which could imply distrust, was earnestly to be deprecated; 
and after long deliberation the Council arrived at the convic- 
tion, that no trick was intended by the insertion, in the '.Resolu- 
tion ratifying the Compact, of the clause "in the employ and pay 
of the United States Coast Survey ; " that these words might 
be construed as innocently and harmlessly alluding to the fact 
that myself and assistants were also in the Coast Survey 
service ; that they were intended for no ulterior purpose, 
and prompted by no dishonorable motive. It was therefore 
the opinion of all, and unanimously voted by the Council in 
due form at their meeting of February 6, that no exception 
should be taken to the vote of the Trustees on account of this 
clause ; but that in consequence of the title affixed to Professor 
Bache's name, he should place the fact on record, that the 
acceptance alluded to was not as "Superintendent of the Coast 
Survey " but as a member of the Scientific Council. With this 
correction they unanimously ratified the action of Professor 
Bache, as the Trustees had done that of Mr. Olcott. It is 
proper to repeat, that the resolution of January 9, recited in the 
first preamble, as printed on page 68 of the "Statement," does 
not occur in the four copies of the resolutions of January 19, 
as signed by the Secretary, and transmitted by him to the 
several members of the Council — thus showing the manifest 
interpolation of this preamble in the pamphlet. 

There are many circumstances connected with the events 
wilich I have thus endeavored briefly to narrate, and bearing 
upon this controversy, all demonstrating the same spirit of 
trickery, intrigue and deceit. But I have given enough, and 
pass to the consideration of other acts of my Accusers, which 
it is my painful duty to expose. 

On the 7th of February, the day after the meeting of the 
Council in Philadelphia, I presented myself at Albany, to 
take charge of the Observatory. The premises were not yet 
ready, and by Mr. Olcott's advice I returned to Cambridge 
to superintend the packing and transportation of my books and 
other effects, returning to Albany, on the 20th of February, 
since which time this city has been my residence. 



75 

From this narrative it will be evident to all, that in order 
to warrant any interference by the Trustees with the engage- 
ment thus made, and carried out by me at so much personal 
sacrifice, some violation of this engagement on my part or on 
the part of the Council must be shown. If any thing other 
than such violation could serve as a sufficient pretext, it must 
be some gross dereliction from duty, or disregard of the true 
interests of the Observatory on my part. Whether any such 
lias been manifested the reader must judge. 

The majority now endeavor to cover up their assumption and 
attempt in June last, to expel me from the Scientific Council, 
and in July to dissolve relations with the remainder of the Coun- 
cil, mainly by a narrative of alleged Incompetency, Untruthful- 
ness and Extravagance, manifested by me prior to the time at 
which these arrangements were made. From the preceding 
statement it will appear, that in January last, with a full 
knowledge of whatever is true in the assertions which the 
chief actors in this business now bring forward in vindication 
of their course, the Compact by which the Observatory was 
placed in my charge was deliberately and solemnly ratified. 
And it is most evident, that unless some act of mine subsequent 
to January 19, 1858, could authorize the action by which the 
Board, endeavored, in June, to drive me from the Dudley 
Observatory, nothing could warrant this procedure. I am now 
speaking as well of the moral, as of the legal bearing. That 
the latter is none the less strong, I am advised by high legal 
authority; but intend to leave legal questions to my counsel, 
and to present the matter here in such a light that every man 
of honor and truthfulness may be competent to judge of it. 

As the Council understood the action of the Trustees, Jan- 
uary 19, it seemed. to have put an end to all sources of discord. 
Upon arrangements made by Mr. Olcott and his friends, Dr. 
Peters was appointed to the charge of an Observatory at Ham- 
ilton College, in Clinton, N. Y. The Council were also in- 
formed, January 18, that no acceptance of the observership 
had been received from Peters, and that the vote of January 
9, appointing him an observer required, therefore, no act of 
dismissal. "Whether the assertion of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby 



76 

on that occasion, or the account on page 57 of their recent 
attack, in which they print a letter of acceptance, dated Jan- 
uary 9, was the true one, the reader is as competent to judge 
as I am. 

No occasion for the absence of harmonious action now seemed 
to remain, other than the memories of the past, but as I had 
in no instance been an aggressor, not even in self-defence, — 
for my remarks before the Board had been courteous, though 
decided, and had been followed on the next day by an expres- 
sion on Dr. Armsby's part of a desire to resume kindly rela- 
tions, — there appeared no reason to apprehend any discord. It 
is true I now knew something of the two men with whom I 
was chiefly to occupy official relations ; but this very circum- 
stance made me the more confident of my ability to avoid any 
new occasion of discord. By a policy of unvarying courtesy 
to Mr. Olcott and Dr. Armsby, I fully expected to secure the 
return of more congenial feeling. It was not for me to sit 
in judgement upon their moral character; neither approba- 
tion of it, nor the reverse, were called for, on my part; but 
it was my duty to rescue the Observatory from its threatened 
downfall. The other members of the majority I assumed to 
be worthy men ; and even when, at a later day, my eyes 
became opened in respect to one of them, now no more, no 
change occurred in my regards for the remainder. 

The new era had been inaugurated, to be sure, by a renew- 
ed application from Mr. Olcott, January 19 and 20, that I 
would appoint Peters my assistant, "as an act of generosity;" 
but I supposed that the day's reflection, which I then gave the 
subject, and my subsequent earnest appeals to Mr. Olcott not 
to urge this step upon me had given him no offence, in spite of 
my non-compliance with his applications. Certainly his smiling 
blandishments and declarations had left me under this impres- 
sion. Mr. Olcott's request, that Dr. Peters be allowed tc 
remain yet a few days more in the building, met, like previous 
requests of the same kind, a ready compliance ; and Mr. Olcott 
again volunteered the promise of entire support and co-opera- 
tion. The course of conciliatory compliance with all his other 



77 

wishes, of deference to his official dignity as Vice President, 
and subsequently President, of the Board, and of complimentary 
attentions, would I supposed efface in time all memories of a 
disagreeable nature. How totally I under-estimated the vindic- 
tiveness and rancor of this man, I was soon made to see and feel, 
and to appreciate the consequences of a " Want of Harmony." 

When, on February 9, 1 came to Albany with a view to assume 
personal charge, the dwelling house was not yet habitable ; 
Peters was still in the Observatory, and Mr. Olcott advised a 
delay of ten days. During the interval of nearly a month since 
the meeting of January, not a day had passed without some 
libelous and venomous attack in one, and usually several, of 
the daily papers. Articles were systematically written to New 
York journals, in order to be reprinted in Albany, with com- 
ments by the authors of the articles themselves. And the 
paper, then and since most abusive, was at the time, as I have 
been informed and believe, under some ownership, and to a 
large extent under the control, of one of the majority. I 
may say, indeed, that no journal claiming to be respectable 
could pour out upon any human being such a torrent of 
scurrility and invective as this paper has poured out upon 
myself and the other members of the Council for the last 
twelve months. On some occasions this ferocious invective 
has formed nearly the entire stock of its reading matter. It 
is needless to say that it has met with neither notice nor reply 
from me. 

Some of my friends having traced sundry of these communi- 
cations to Dr. Armsby, I had conveyed a delicate allusion to 
the fact in a letter written to Mr. Olcott, January 30, upon 
another subject. He replied, declining to interfere, and assur- 
ing me that I was mistaken. I then gave him some informa- 
tion upon the subject in a note, from which he has published a 
garbled and mutilated extract on page 69 of his Second 
Attack. To this he made no reply, and I let the subject drop. 
This information, thus furnished, he now attempts to make the 
basis of an accusation against me ! 

Mr. Olcott received me politely on my arrival, February 9 ; 
said that Dr. Peters would soon vacate his apartments; and 



78 

that as the dwelling house was not yet habitable, he thought 
it might be well for me to delay my coming until about the 
20th, by which time Mr. Smith, the builder, had promised that 
the house should be fit for habitation. Mr. Toomer had been 
compelled meanwhile to remain at the hotel since Dec. 22, a 
period of seven weeks; — but I made no new complaint, and 
when Mr. Olcott wrote to me at Cambridge a few days later, 
asking me to fix a date for Dr. Peters to leave, I declined : 
and begged to be allowed to refrain from any farther inter- 
ference. Dr. Peters did leave February 13. 

On the 20th of February I removed to Albany, accompanied or 
followed by three other assistants, who had generously offered 
their services to aid in the difficult and troublesome enterprise 
before us. We found the dwelling house almost untenantable ; 
my letter of January 21, to the Trustees, (published in the 
(i Correspondence") asking their approval for the proposed 
mode of employing the $2,000 coming from the State, had 
not been answered; nor had any answer been given to my 
inquiries concerning the dome. And to my astonishment Mr. 
Olcott now informed me that this appropriation could not be 
obtained for the Observatory without much trouble, and 
requested my personal exertions. These were of course given, 
though at great cost of time and trouble ; and finally the 
$2,000 was appropriated by the Eegents, with a perfect under- 
standing of the whole matter. 

Then came a new breach of faith by the Managers. The Coast 
Survey had bound itself to do for the Observatory at an esti- 
mated outlay of $600, a work which could not be properly done 
in any other way, except at a far greater expense. The Obser- 
vatory had offered to the Regents to perform the same work 
for |2,000. It was to be done under my own direction, in my 
capacity of assistant in the Coast Survey, as an extra work. 
Thus the Coast Survey, the State and the Observatory, were 
all to be the gainers ; and the work was to be done by me and 
my assistants without a dollar of additional personal compen- 
sation. I was also made to labor to obtain the appropriation 
from the Regents, and yet the Trustees left me to bear the 
greater part of the pecuniary burden of equipping and carry- 



ing on the establishment; in direct violation of the compact, 
and in neglect and delay of their promises in regard to the 
State appropriation. So flagrant a breach of faith to all con- 
cerned, needs no word of comment. 

On the 2d of March, a meeting of the Trustees was held, of 
which however I had no previous notice or knowledge. A new 
Executive Committee, consisting of nine out of the fifteen mem- 
bers of the Board, was appointed at this meeting, and clothed 
with full power, being so constituted as to leave undisputed 
control in the hands of Mr. Olcott. General Van Rensselaer's 
resignation of the Presidency and of his Trusteeship was pre- 
sented, and the Board accepted the former, electing Mr. Olcott 
to the vacancy thus created. The resignation as a member of 
the Board, they declined accepting; although June 4, three 
months later, it was taken from the files and accepted, in order 
to create a vacancy for Judge Harris. 

My letters to the Trustees, of January 21, concerning the 
distribution of the State appropriation, and January 27, regard- 
ing the Dome, having been referred to this new Executive 
Committee, and notice of the reference sent me by the Secre- 
tary, I prepared a new communication to the committee, giving 
information on various points upon which Mr. Olcott had 
requested me to make an official communication, and asking 
information on others. And I requested Mr. Olcott to convene 
this Executive Committee, in order that I might be enabled 
to meet them, present my views and confer with them in person. 
My motives for this were threefold : I wished to place my posi- 
tion upon record ; to communicate freely with the committee, 
thus presenting my views without the formality of written 
correspondence; and to avoid the intervention of the Secre- 
tary, Dr. Armsby, whom I had already found reason to suspect 
of tampering with the records and other analogous practices, 
in a manner to prevent, if possible, the formation of any pleasant 
relations between myself and the Board. My request was com- 
plied with, and a meeting of the Executive Committee held 
March 5. It was the only meeting of the Executive Committee 
or of the Trustees which I was ever permitted to attend, except- 



80 

ingthat one which the Council attended and addressed January 
16. At this meeting I read the communication of March 4, 
(printed in the pamphlet of " Correspondence.") With the 
exception of some remarks and questions of Dr. Armsby, intend- 
ed to be irritating, but the offensiveness of which I did not 
choose to notice, the conference was entirely agreeable, and I 
did my best, (in the language of the communication then pre- 
sented,) "to learn from the Trustees or their representatives, 
their views of the course most proper for me to adopt ; being 
alike anxious to conform entirely to their wishes ; to assume no 
improper authority, and to evade no responsibility. 

My communication was referred to a sub-committee of five, 
three of whom were Messrs. Olcott, Armsby and Wilder. Mr. 
Olcott's name was, however, subsequently omitted from the 
committee in the copy of the vote sent me by the Secretary, 
and in the record ; and I am able to bear personal witness that 
more than one of the votes then passed were also essentially 
changed by the Secretary, and always in such a manner as to 
occasion me personal inconvenience and embarrassment. Of 
course no answer to my communication was ever given. After 
once or twice asking for it, I became aware that no answer was 
intended. 

I will not dwell upon the studied annoyances of these three 
months. The Council have alluded to the matter slightly in the 
Defence, and I have no disposition to recount the personal indig- 
nities which these two men, with the aid of a third, who is now 
beyond the reach of human censure, endeavored to inflict upon 
me. Other letters received in like manner no reply; votes, 
which it was important for me to be informed of, were with- 
held by the Secretary, and only obtained by repeated applica- 
tion on my part. My proposal to attend the meetings of the 
Trustees, and of the Executive Committee, was declined by 
Mr. Olcott ; all facilities for furnishing the Observatory build, 
ings and office were withheld; as was also authority to provide 
stationery, fuel and lights. The whole basement story of the 
Observatory building was withheld until May 1st, and given to 
a former servant of Dr. Armsby, as a dwelling, having been 
fitted up by Dr. Armsby for this purpose. 



81 

The catalogue of small petty indignities and annoyances 
would be as incredible as it is long; and I pass it by, merely 
saying that the consistent course of all who exercised authority 
in the Board was such as to compel the inference that the 
object was to irritate and annoy me into abandoning the 
Observatory in despair and disheartenment. This, however, 
I determined not to do, — being unwilling voluntarily to leave 
my post until convinced that such a surrender of the sacred 
trust would be productive of no detriment to the progress of 
science in our country. 

The systematic course of public attack, which was kept up 
through the newspapers, was traced as before, in all instances 
where any trace was found, to an individual member of the 
Executive Committee, — the journal already alluded to being 
still remarkable for the number and violence of these attacks. 

The only "outlays applied for' 7 by me are detailed by the 
Council in §11 of the Defence. The "applications" for appro- 
priations, consisted simply of estimates, presented at the 
request of Mr. Olcott, or certificates of the correctness of bills 
for work, ordered by his direction long previous. I believe in 
every case of the latter class it became ultimately necessary for 
me to advance the money individually, in justice to the 
creditors. 

Meantime the discomforts and privations of our residence at 
the Observatory were great ; my estimates and suggestions 
were neglected ; or, when acted upon, were made the means of 
giving some turn of an annoying sort to the action, apart from 
the delay. The details were referred to sub-committees of 
which Messrs. Armsby and Wilder were always prominent 
members; individual Trustees united in a letter unwarrant- 
ably meddlesome in its nature, if not insulting in its terms. 
The sub-committee, whom the Executive Committee had 
invested with power, would not, as such, visit the Observatory, 
even on the most pressing occasions; and never did visit it 
but once, notwithstanding my urgent appeals. Yet untimely 
and dictatorial visitations were made by individual Trustees, 
and interference attempted with my assistants, who were not in 



82 

any way in the Trustees' employ. These assistants, intelligent 
and exemplary young men, at work gratuitously for the Observa- 
tory, were treated in a way that no menial is treated in this 
country, without being justified in resenting the injury. 

Those to whom I should have looked for support were con- 
stantly engaged in these attempts to annoy, injure and insult me 
and my assistants. It was not enough that we received no salary 
from the Observatory, not enough that I freely expended my 
own means in its support ; but we must be badgered at every 
step of our progress, finding the most irritating and intolera- 
ble acts of rudeness, instead of the generous confidence and 
courteous consideration to which we were entitled. 

Throughout this series of offensive, petty and truly con- 
temptible acts, I think I may claim to have pursued a dignified 
and proper course, and to have preserved my title to self- 
respect. Without a high purpose constantly in view, to guide 
and direct this course, it would have been impossible to pur- 
sue it steadily and evenly in the midst of these depressing 
and saddening circumstances ; but I had resolved that, so far as I 
could help, the Observatory should not fall a victim to the bad 
passions of unprincipled men, though this might be the case with 
myself; and I therefore strove with all my powers to concili- 
ate and soothe these men — who, apart from their relations to the 
Observatory, would of course have been unworthy of a thought. 

The visit of three of my enemies in the Board, Messrs. 
Armsby, Wilder and Pruyn, furnished at last the desired 
opportunity for fomenting a quarrel. The particulars of their 
visit may be found on page 102. 

It furnished the occasion for a series of insulting resolutions, 
to which I replied in the letter of May 31, already spoken of, 
and which is printed both in the u Correspondence," and with 
the third edition of the " Defence." The only reply with 
which I was favored is contained in the "want of Harmony" 
Resolutions, of June 4, and these were only sent to me some 
ten or twelve days later. It appears that the Executive Com- 
mittee of Nine met promptly, and adopted a report which they 
presented to the meeting of the Trustees, called on the 4th of 
June, and of which I have already spoken. Judge Harris, 



83 

soon after his election on that day, appeared and moved my 
expulsion, but his course met with strenuous opposition. A 
resolution was, after various attempts at modification, finally 
agreed on. As transmitted to the Council, and printed by the 
majority, it reads as follows : 

Resolved, That the constantly recurring difficulties which this Board 
has experienced in the affairs of the Dudley Observatory, arising from 
want of Harmony between Dr. G-ould and the members of this Board, 
have satisfied the Board that some new arrangement is absolutely neces- 
sary, and that the President be requested to communicate these facts to 
the Scientific Council. 

A member of the Board has informed me that the resolu- 
tion, as actually passed, was different from this, and that my 
name did not occur in it ; but this point has now become a very 
unimportant one. 

There is but little more to add in this connection. The Coun- 
cil, to whom the Resolution was sent, immediately addressed 
both me and the Trustees, asking information relative to this 
" want of Harmony," and in reply I submitted my correspon- 
dence with the Board and its officers. This correspondence I 
also published, without a word of comment, on the 28th of 
June. On the 15th of that month, eleven days after it was 
passed, the Secretary, Dr. Armsby, transmitted to me a copy 
of the vote of the Board, and since that time I have had no 
intercourse with the Trustees as a body. On the 26th of June 
Mr. Olcott again convened them, presented his Manifesto, 
obtained their indorsement, and had a summary of it immedi- 
ately published in a New York newspaper. At the same 
meeting, the Trustees, 9 to 4, with no more form of consulta- 
tion with the Council on this pre-eminently important subject 
than they had shown in January, in the action relative to the 
alleged election of "an observer," voted that they would no 
longer recognize me as a"member of the Scientific Council. 

My colleagues of the Council arrived in Albany, pursuant 
to their notice to the Board, on the 29th of June, the day 
previous to the publication of the Manifesto in this city. They 
investigated the charges, declared them false, and were them- 
selves expelled, so far as a resolution of the Board could expel 
them. 



84 

Mrs. Dudley addressed a letter to the Council, assuring us 
of her approval and sympathy, and entreating us to stand firm. 
She addressed the Trustees, calling upon those who could not 
co-operate with the Council to resign, — an appeal with which 
they declined complying. Their answer is published on pages 
93, 94 of their "Statement," and with the unmanly and false inti- 
mation that the letter was prepared "by a prominent party to 
this controversy,' 7 (apparently alluding to myself,) " who dared 
to invade the seclusion of this aged lady, and obtain her signa- 
ture to this paper, uncomprehended and incomprehensible as 
it was by her." 

This indecent and ungrateful allusion to Mrs. Dudley has 
been treated by her with the scorn which it deserves; but to 
their answer she returned a reply which they have very wisely 
refrained from laying before their readers. 

The Council's Defence of myself, and assertion of their rights 
under the compact of December, — a compact which the law as 
well as the conscience of every honest man cannot fail to 
recognize, and under which I have incurred those pecuniary 
expenditures of which the law takes especial cognizance, — 
brought upon them the vote of the Board declaring " the rela- 
tions which have heretofore existed between the Trustees and 
the Scientific Council, to be dissolved and terminated;" and 
still another resolution as follows : 

Resolved, further, That this Board will feel constrained to regard the fur- 
ther occupation of the Observatory premises by the gentlemen composing 
the Scientific Council, or any other person by their authority, as a viola- 
tion of the legal rights of this Board, so clear and manifest, that it cannot 
pass unnoticed ; and that the President of the Board be authorised, in 
his discretion, to take all necessary measures to secure the possession and 
control of the property of the Institution. 

It is easy for Mr. Olcott to procure a vote of his majority 

declaring anything which he may choose they shall declare ; but 

their declarations about legal rights do not make those rights. 

The foregoing resolution was passed on the 3d of July, and 

I am writing these lines at the Dudley Observatory in the 

month of December, 1858, as yet in undisturbed possession of 

the premises. And although the newspapers have asserted 

that "the Trustees" had commenced legal proceedings, no 

legal process whatever has been instituted other than a 



85 

V notice to quit," signed with great formality by Mr. Olcott 
and Dr. Armsby, and served, July 8, upon the members of 
the Council by a bank messenger.* 

How could any of the long catalogue of sins, now imputed to 
me, justify or excuse the course of the Board in June and July, 
when these alleged offences preceded the solemn act of Jan- 
uary 19, ratifying the compact by which the Observatory was 
placed in my charge, and were as well known then, as it is pre- 
tended they were six months later ? To warrant any retrace- 
ment of this step some subsequent offence must be shown. 
Here the whole case might be rested, and the generous 
impulses of all honorable men invoked in opposition to the 
attempts to drive me from the Observatory — attempts prompted 
solely by personal malevolence. Nothing occurring since Jan- 
uary 19, any more than before, can be found, to serve as a 
decent pretext, — zealously as a pretext was sought, and con- 
stant as were the efforts to goad me into some expression of 
indignation or contempt which might serve as the ostensible 
occasion for a quarrel. After three years of self-sacrifice and 
ceaseless devotion to the work of founding and establishing a 
scientific institution of the first class, I was determined, if possi- 
ble to prevent it, that it should not fall a victim to narrow per- 
sonal jealousies or to the machinations of spite. I assert that 
no ground of offence, or of censure, can be found in my relations 
with the Board ; but that, even when tormented and goaded by 
the ceaseless irritation of persons like Messrs. Armsby and Ro- 
bert H. Pruyn, — persons to whom their membership of the Board 
gave the power of annoyance, and with whom this official rela- 
tion compelled me to endure personal intercourse — not one 
unguarded word or deed gave the opportunity for a just com- 
plaint even of " want of Harmony," so far as this depended upon 
me. Coming to Albany to assume new and heavy responsibili- 
ties and cares, unrecompensed save by my own conscience ; with 
previous duties and labors undiminished ; surrounded by a set 
of persons to whom a share in the legal guardianship of the 
institution had been intrusted, and who seemed to care for 

* On the 3d of January, the Observatory was taken possession of by a lawless 
mob, hired by Mr. Olcott. 



86 

the power thus conferred only so far as it afforded the means 
of inflicting indignities and annoyances upon me; with the 
burden of its daily pecuniary support cast upon my own 
shoulders, and subject to ceaseless calumnies and attacks both 
covert and through the press ; my every act assailed ; my every 
omission to act denounced ; — I assert that I preserved through- 
out a quiet and patient endurance ; repressing every external 
symptom of that indignation which no human being could 
fail to feel. 

It will of course be asked, why I permitted myself to occupy 
so false a position ; why I submitted to such insolence, and why 
I insisted upon retaining a position, where, despite official 
declarations, it was but too . evident, that some of those to 
whom the charter had given power, were determined to use it 
for the most pitiful and spiteful purposes. My answer is simple. 
In the success or failure of the Dudley Observatory, I believed 
that the success or failure of future institutions of science in 
America was largely involved. And although there is no want 
of Americans competent to conduct and guide such an institu- 
tion, — I felt that under the circumstances, my own abandon- 
ment of it would be the signal for its failure and disgrace. 
If, through the surrender of all that man holds dear, — of 
health, of life, of everything except good name, — it might be 
my privilege to make the Dudley Observatory what its founders 
intended and its Trustees promised, I felt that I should not 
have lived in vain. These views and the consideration of my 
obligations and those of the Scientific Council to the Donors 
influenced my course and fixed my determination. 

It was not until after the lapse of more than three months 
from the time I took possession in February, that a favorable 
opportunity was found by Messrs. Armsby, Wilder and Pruyn 
for carrying out their plans. It early became manifest to 
me, that my absence from the Observatory would be made 
an occasion for some offensive action, and I carefully refrained, 
as far as possible, from leaving the premises during the 
hours of daylight, venturing upon any absence only at long 
intervals and for very short periods. But by constant watch- 
fulness, these gentlemen succeeded in learning the only two 



occasions in the lapse of three weeks, upon which I was to be 
away during the day. Both these occasions were seized upon 
by them to visit the Observatory; and by conduct grossly 
discourteous to my assistants, it was sought to lay the founda- 
tions of a quarrel. The account of these visits given by Messrs. 
Wilder and Pruyn in the " Statement of the Trustees," I believe 
to be a perversion of the facts in every essential particular. 
It is only vouched for by their assertions — while it is not merely 
highly improbable in itself, but is in direct conflict with the 
accordant statements of three of my assistants, who, from long 
acquaintance, I know would scorn a falsehood. My full con- 
viction is, that my assistants conducted themselves with 
dignity and discretion. I approve and indorse their behavior. 
But be it borne in mind that no complaint against them was 
made to me. The series of insulting resolutions before referred 
to, was immediately passed by the Executive Committee, to 
which ^returned a courteous reply, and asked for information 
relative to any supposed misbehavior of the 'assistants. This 
reply was followed by the meeting of June 4, at which Judge 
Ira Harris was elected a Trustee, appeared, and moved my 
expulsion ; and at which the Board adopted the vote declaring 
a "Want of Harmony." 

Without farther action on my part, and with the view of fore- 
stalling any action or investigation by the Council, this was 
followed by the meeting of the 26th of June, at which Mr. Olcott 
presented, and a majority of the Board indorsed, the paper now 
generally known as Mr. Olcott's Manifesto, — a document in 
which my truthfulness, discretion, competency and honesty 
were assailed in a chaotic medley of charges, serious and trivial, 
whose only point of resemblance consisted in their bitterness* 
These charges my colleagues of the Scientific Council investi- 
gated and refuted one by one, — publishing the refutations in a 
pamphlet entitled "Defence of Dr. Gould by the Scientific 
Council of the Dudley Observatory.'' To this the majority of 
the Board has responded; not with any attempt at disproval, 
except by means of. false assertions and false testimony, but in 
the new and adroitly constructed Second series of charges, 



88 

which has called forth this reply. Without using the only 
epithets or adjectives which would characterize it, I repeat 
the declaration that the great majority of its quotations are 
falsified, and that its accusations and arguments are chiefly 
founded upon the falsified quotations, and upon the deliberate 
misstatement of facts. The disadvantage of my position 
is sufficiently palpable from the necessity of such language to 
describe it ; language which, if used needlessly, would assuredly 
recoil to my own discomfiture. 

The only pretexts put forward by the Accusers, which can 
be pretended to afford any color of justification for their action 
are; — First, alleged incompetency, indiscretion, delay and bad 
faith, shown prior to the date when they placed the Observa- 
tory in my keeping; — Secondly, some vaguely imputed delays, 
and demands for means to equip and carry on the Observatory 
after that time ; and, — Thirdly, my letter of reply to the resolu- 
tions of the Executive Committee, passed May 22, the day 
after the expedition of Messrs. Armsby and Pruyn to the 
Observatory. In writing this letter, my motive was to repre- 
sent the fatal effects to the Observatory of the course upon 
which the Executive Committee had entered ; and to do this 
so clearly that the excuse of ignorance might be unavailing. 
To have expressed myself less strongly would have been 
cowardly ; for though knowing the desire of certain Trustees 
to find pretexts for a rupture, and though fully determined to 
afford none, yet the shameful treatment of my faithful, disin- 
terested, conscientious assistants, whose position precluded 
them from resenting it and defending themselves, was too 
great to pass unnoticed by me. Of this letter, — which affords 
the main excuse offered for their attempt to oust me from 
the Observatory, — Professors Henry, Bache and Peirce say 
in the " Defence:'' 1 "It is a model of a plain, direct, manly, 
independent statement." They call it a " highly dignified 
and respectful array of argument," and " declare that this letter 
which Mr. Olcott condemns, meets our [their] hearty appro- 
bation and full concurrence." They moreover say: "This 
letter is a sample of many straight-forward appeals to the 
Executive Committee of the Board ; and none but men whose 



89 

tempers were so inflamed as to excite them to tyrannical acts, 
could fail to see this." 

The judgement of the Nine Trustees is apparently different. 
In the Manifesto of Mr. Olcott, which they by their votes 
" approved as expressive of the views of the Board," he says : 

"This letter affords sufficient justification for terminating his relations 
with this institution, unless arrogance, insolence and conceit are suited to 
the taste of the gentlemen of this Board." 

In their "Statement" they say: (p. 79) 

11 That letter has been designated by one member of this Board as 
arrogant, insolent, and unbecoming the position held by Dr. Grould, and 
his relation to the Trustees. This opinion has been adopted as the judge- 
ment of this Board, and that judgement is now reiterated. Occupying a 
a position which he had but just obtained at the hands of the Trustees, 
and that, too, not without the most humiliating importunity, he now puts 
on airs, and assumes to teach the Executive Committee and the Trustees 
what belongs to them, and in what manner they should discharge their 
duty." 

In a case of such extremely conflicting judgement, it would 
seem to be the simplest course to refer to the letter itself, 
which is contained in the published "Correspondence," and in 
the 3d edition of the "Defence." Let it be remembered that it 
is the ground mainly relied on for my attempted expulsion, 
so far as founded on any act since the Observatory was placed 
under my charge by the compact. 

The Scientific Council in declaring their rights, had but 
repeated the positions taken in the letters of Mr. Olcott and 
Dr. Armsby, and in their declarations to the donors, or carried 
out these declarations to their legitimate consequences. 

Ignoring their first appointment, and the long sanction of it 
for nearly three years, by the Executive Committee, the Board 
met on the third day of July ; and — referring to their own wrong- 
doing of January as being the sole ground and origin of our 
rights, — referring to their own corporate powers, and claiming 
to direct all the concerns of the Observatory, although they 
had surrendered to us the scientific control, — referring to their 
quasi dismissal of myself, though they never had the manliness 
to bring this to a decisive vote, in which the names of the 
minority would have been recorded, — accusing me of an appeal 
1 



90 

to the Scientific Council, when they well knew that the appeal 
had come from them, — accusing the Scientific Council of assum- 
ing powers with which they were never clothed, when the 
Accusers well knew that by the original constitution of the 
Council, by the action of the Executive Committee, and by the 
resolution of the Trustees in January, the scientific control of 
the Observatory had been vested in them, — accusing them of 
sitting as a tribunal on the action of the Board, when they well 
knew that it was my own case which was on trial before the 
Council, — forgetting the amenities of language, and their own 
professions of high respect for the members of the Council, 
while they rudely and falsely accuse them of " surprising assu- 
rance," and of assuming to condemn and reverse the action of 
the Board, — alleging again, perversely, that all this is done 
without the shadow of right, when they well knew that the 
actions of the Council were in consonance with its original 
appointment and legitimate duties, — perverting the generous 
course of the Council in determining to take temporary charge 
of the Observatory in person, in order to relieve the Majority 
from the difficulties in which they were placed, — they pro- 
ceeded, violently and in temper, to declare the relations which 
had heretofore existed between the Trustees and the Scientific 
Council to be dissolved and terminated. 

It is Well that my Accusers have put their extraordinary res- 
olutions upon record, and that the fallacies of the preamble 
and the violence of the resolutions will now speak for their 
authors forever. 

What a return for the valuable services of Professors Henry, 
Bache, Peirce, and Gould, stated by the preamble to have been 
rendered for nearly three years ! 

If the Board did not concur with the Council in their view 
of their rights and of their position, should not the "valuable 
services," and the respect for the "high positions," at least have 
called for moderate measures? The angry tempers of the 
majority of the Board, in secret conclave, uncontrolled by those 
influences which publicity gives, and confident of the power of 
a majority, drove them headlong forward ; and all who dared 



91 

to resist the power and dictation of their President must be 
crushed. 

With total disregard of the interests concerned, the Observa- 
tory was at once to be vacated by the Director and Council ; 
the observations to be discontinued ; the costly instruments to 
be left unprotected ; no convenience, public or private, was to 
be regarded ; the amenities and the decencies of life and society 
were to be set at naught ; and the President of the Board was 
a Committee of One to force these offenders from the Dudley 
Observatory and Van Rensselaer Hill ! It was a remarkable 
stroke of policy, by which the majority of the Board put the 
responsibility of farther offensive measures upon the President. 
He had already shown so reckless a determination to oppress 
all who opposed him, that the majority might well shrink from 
the subsequent steps in consummation of the wrong done by 
their votes and in their names. 

The Scientific Council, in the face of a solemn compact, were 
to be driven from the scene of their labors ; I was to be separa- 
ted from the instruments which had been made under my super- 
intendence, and mounted by my labor, — this procedure forming 
the culmination of a series of the most violent, arbitrary and 
unjust acts which a close corporation has ever perpetrated in 
our country and our day. 

The Coast Survey station, with the instruments of the United 
States mounted and in use, was to be abandoned by the Super- 
intendent and his assistants, that the President of the Trustees 
might take " possession and control. " The series of observa- 
tions, conducted at such considerable expense to the State of 
New York, and to the United States, was to remain incomplete ; 
and the officers were to be ejected from the premises, and cut 
off from the execution of their duty. 

On Tuesday, July 13, a call for a public meeting, to give 
expression to the feeling of the citizens of Albany with reference 
to the action of the Trustees, appeared in the daily papers. 
The call was signed by many of the most prominent citizens, 
and the meeting was numerously attended. General Yan Rens- 
selaer presided ; and the Council were cheered and encouraged 



92 

by a most cordial reception, and by the warmest expressions of 
sympathy and support. The occasion was one upon which 
they, as well as myself, will always look back with peculiar 
pleasure. It assured them that their course — a course dictated 
only by the highest sense of duty to science and to truth — met 
with the earnest approbation of those whose good opinion they 
could not but value. It showed that" power, blinded by passion, 
had not prevailed in lowering them in the esteem of the citizens 
of Albany. Professors Bache and Henry addressed the meet- 
ing, and explained the nature of our past and present connec- 
tion with the Observatory. The Hon. D. D. Barnard followed 
in a speech of manly vigor and earnestness. A Committee was 
appointed to draft resolutions; and the resolutions presented 
by them, which we here insert, were loudly applauded and 
unanimously adopted : 

"Resolved, That we feel compelled from a sense of public duty to 
declare in this public manner, that we utterly disapprove and condemn the 
proceedings and actiou of the majority of the Trustees of the Dudley 
Observatory in relation both to the Director, Dr. Gould, and to the 
Scientific Council. 

"Resolved, That, after the investigations -that have been made, — 'the 
result of which have been laid before the public, — -there does not, in our 
judgement, exist, and never did exist, any substantial or probable grounds 
whatever for any of the bold charges, accusations, or complaints, contained 
in the published statement of the President of the Board of Trustees, 
against Dr. Gould, the Director of the Observatory, or for the injurious 
reflections cast upon the very meritorious young gentlemen, his assistants 
at the Observatory. 

"Resolved, That the action of the Board of Trustees in this matter does 
not, in our judgement, exhibit a true regard for the interests of the Dudley 
Observatory, or the interests of science ; but appears to us to have been 
taken in manifest disregard of these interests, and, if persisted in, must 
end in the certain ruin of the Observatory. 

"Resolved, That, after the gross indignity offered by a majority of the 
Trustees to Dr. Gould, the Director, and to Professors Henry, Bache, and 
Peirce, of the Scientific Council, and so long as the insult remains unre- 
dressed, no astronomer and no man of science can consent to take their 
places at the Dudley Observatory without a betrayal of the common cause 
of brotherhood in science or without personal dishonor. 

"Resolved, That the circumstances under which Dr. Gould, the Director, 
and the Scientific Council, were placed in the immediate charge and 
actual possession of the Observatory building and instruments; of the 
principal dwelling-house on the ground, furnished at the expense of Dr. 
Gould ; and of another building, erected under the orders of Prof. Bache, 
the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, as a station for that work, with 
the sanction of the Trustees, and which is filled with the instruments 



93 

belonging to and in the service of the United States, — render it the duty 
of these gentlemen not to yield possession of the premises to the injury of 
the important interests committed to them, until their legal rights therein 
shall be ascertained and* determined by due process of law. 

11 Resolved, That this meeting, having learned that the donors, or a 
large number of them, have called upon the Trustees to submit the whole 
matter of the difficulty, in regard to the Dudley Observatory, to certain 
gentlemen of the highest character and standing, named by them, to pass 
upon and determine the difficulty, express the earnest hope; that the Board 
of Trustees will comply with that proposition, as the only means, short of 
a resignation of several members of the Board, of saving the Observatory, 
and restoring it to a condition of usefulness. 

11 Resolved, That a committee of fifteen, including the chairman, be 
appointed by him to prepare a communication in behalf of this meeting, to 
be addressed to the citizens of Albany and to the donors and friends of the 
Observatory, and to be signed by the committee setting forth and enforc- 
ing the views of this meeting as expressed in the foregoing resolutions." 

In accordance with the last resolution, a Committee was 
appointed, whose report, in the form of an address to the donors 
and friends of the Observatory, signed by Messrs. Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, D. D. Barnard, Erastus Corning, H. Pumpelly, J. 
V. L. Pruyn, M. F, Cogswell, John Tayler Cooper, Thomas 
Hun, James Edwards, Orlando Meads, J. B. Plumb, and Isaac 
Vanderpoel, is before the public. 

The encouragement and comfort afforded me by this indorse- 
ment and approval of my course, and coming from such men, 
has been beyond description. I will not dwell upon the con- 
tents of the Address, farther than to quote its closing para- 
graph, — which was as follows : 

" It is possible that the Dudley Observatory may be saved, if the Board 
of Trustees would close with the proposition understood to be made or 
about to be made, to them by the donors, to submit the whole subject of 
its difficulties to the arbitrament of several very eminent and unexception- 
able gentlemen, as named in that proposition, otherwise, we know of 
nothing now that can restore it to public favor, and to any possible use- 
fulness, but the prompt and voluntary withdrawal of such of the Trustees 
as shall be found unwilling, after the developments and exposures which 
have been made, to co-operate with Prof. Henry, Prof. Bache, Prof. Peirce, 
and Dr. Gould, in a manner to enable them to prosecute and perform their 
proper duties to the Observatory, the donors, and the cause of science. 
This, or a thorough revision and alteration of its very exceptionable 
charter by the legislature, seems to us to afford the only remaining grounds 
of hope for the Observatory." 



94 
CHAPTER VI. 

PRINCIPAL ACCUSATIONS OF MR. OLCOTT AND HIS PARTIZANS. 

1. General Considerations, 

It seems important for me to give some account of my 
attempts to bring the Observatory into activity with few other 
means than those afforded by my own private resources. It 
would have been unreasonable enough to call upon any well- 
salaried head of a well-furnished Observatory, to render an 
account of his stewardship during the first few months after 
his assumption of his charge ; yet, under very different circum- 
stances, the course of my accusers demands this of me. Some 
little account of the progress of affairs at the Observatory will 
therefore be necessary, and it may be well to speak of the 
advance in each of several particulars, while rebutting the 
slanders and untruthful allegations of my assailants upon the 
same head. And preliminary to this, I beg leave to say a few 
words as to the objects of an Astronomical Observatory. 

The science of Astronomy consists in the investigation of 
those laws which govern the motions of the heavenly bodies. 
The Natural History of the heavens, although a cognate and 
most interesting field of inquiry, is not included in the domain 
of Astronomy proper. This latter treats of laws, and of mo- 
tions ; and, as has been well said by one of the first of modern 
authorities, "all else that we can learn of the heavenly bodies, 
as, for example, their appearance and the character of their 
surfaces, although, indeed, far from unworthy of attention, is 
not of astronomical interest. Whether the mountains in the 
moon are of this or of that form is, for the astronomer, of no 
more interest than is the form of terrestrial mountain ranges 
for those who are not astronomers. Whether Jupiter exhibits 
dark belts upon his surface, or is equally illuminated, is just as 
little a subject for the investigation of the astronomer, and 
even the four moons, by which the planet is accompanied, inte- 
rest him only by their motions. To learn the motions of the 
celestial bodies so thoroughly as to render full account of them 
for any epoch, is and has been the problem which Astro- 



95 

nomy must solve." * In the ever-increasing dependence of every 
department of human knowledge upon every other department, 
Astronomy often becomes dependent upon these other branches 
of research. Thus the investigation of the forms of such 
mountains as are thrown into bold outline upon the moon's cir- 
cumference becomes important in examining their effect upon 
occultations ; the belts of Jupiter become important in deter- 
mining the direction and amount of his rotation, as well as in 
the photometric studies of the astronomer ; the masses of his 
moons become a subject of importance, not only in their recip- 
rocal influences upon one another's motions, but also when, as 
in one recorded case, a comet passes between them; but the 
study of the motions of the heavenly bodies is nevertheless the 
sole problem of Astronomy. Its first duty is to establish the 
positions of the fixed stars, which form the beacons and guide- 
marks of the heavens ; its next is, to determine, from the appa- 
rent motions of the more prominent wandering celestial bodies, 
the movements of our own planet j and its third is, by means 
of the data thus obtained, to investigate the laws and motions 
both of our own systems, and of the innumerable other uni- 
verses which gem the firmament. 

No principle is better established than this, which applies 
alike to all departments of science, physical and moral, namely : 
that the abstruseness and want of popular interest of investi- 
gations increase in proportion with their scientific and tech- 
nical value. So it is in Astronomy, and the highest functions 
of a well equipped and properly directed public observatory 
are precisely those which would be likely to meet with the 
least popular appreciation. 

With these explanatory remarks, the motives will easily be 
comprehended which prompted me, in 1855, to join in the 
recommendation of a Heliometer as the instrument of first 
importance, and to advocate the acquisition of a Meridian 
Circle as the next. The large Equatorial telescopes — of which 
so many already exist in the country, and which offer the 
pre-eminent advantages of the highest magnifying capacity, of 

* Bessel Popul. Vorles, p. 5. 



96 

making visible the faintest objects, of pointing to any regions 
of the heavens, — seemed not so important for the beginning. 
And I advocated the acquisition of that instrument which per- 
mits the most delicate and precise measurements of position, 
and gives results which — though possessing the least popular 
interest, and costing the greatest labors, both in the attainment 
of the crude observations, and in the computations which are to 
adapt them for astronomical use — are, in my judgement, of the 
highest importance for the progress of astronomy. 

The functions of a public observatory, furnished with instru- 
ments, provided at great expense with the delicate appliances 
by which alone that exactness can be attained which the 
present state of astronomy demands, and equipped with a 
view to the organized means of many observers and computers, 
laboring for one common end, are far different from those of 
a private observer, whose object is to advance and benefit 
science in such manner as can best be accomplished by his 
unaided personal efforts. The former labors for the improve- 
ment of our knowledge of the fundamental facts and data of 
the science ; the latter, in general, though with some promi- 
nent exceptions, for the more popular end of making celestial 
discoveries, not of laws, but of physical facts and phenomena. 
For the accurate positions of stars, planets &c, upon which all 
other positions depend, we look to large and organized public 
observatories ; but as a general rule, the discoveries of 
asteroids, comets, double-stars, nebulas, &c, have been due to 
individuals not engaged in regular Observatory work. The 
planet Uranus was discovered by a private observer. Le Ver- 
rier's prediction was made before he was connected with any 
astronomical establishment; and although the detection of Nep- 
tune took place at a regularly organized Observatory, it did 
not follow from the discharge of regular duties, and the search 
was only instituted in compliance with the personal application 
of Mr. Le Yerrier. The failure to bear in mind the true object 
of a large observatory often leads to a misapprehension of such 
facts as these ; and actually sometimes to sneers, from the 
uninformed, at the institution, for not doing what, if done at 



97 

all, would be entirely without the line of its regular duties. 
A very eminent living observer, alluding to this very point, 
has well said : 

11 If you look into the history of astronomy, you will find that very few 
discoveries emanated from public Observatories. The institution which 
perhaps more than any other in the world, has assisted to advance astrono- 
mical science, is the Observatory at Greenwich, yet its annals are unmarked 
I believe, with a single discovery. The service it has rendered has been 
the accumulation of careful observations made with the best instruments 
which each successive age has produced, the value of which, under the 
present Astronomer Royal, has been much enhanced by a strict and accu- 
rate reduction. The records of this great establishment constitute a 
magazine of information, to which astronomers of all countries refer with- 
out doubt or hesitation."* 

It has been my desire and purpose that future years should 
be able to speak in terms of similar applause of the achievements 
of the Dudley Observatory at Albany. Its two astronomical 
instruments, — of which only one has yet been received, — are 
of the class which demand the greatest labor, and reward that 
labor with the fewest visible results; but they are also of that 
class which may be made the most serviceable for the progress 
of astronomy. 

It is evident that results undisseminated are almost as use- 
less as no results at all; and the great aim of an organized 
astronomical Observatory, next to making good observations, 
should, therefore, be to subject them promptly to the necessary 
computations, and to publish them thus " reduced/ 7 as the 
technical term is, for the use of astronomers throughout the 
world. The constant publication of valuable observations, in 
a form fit for use, would, I am sure, constitute a far higher 
commendation to the favor and support of an educated commu- 
nity, than would Messrs. Olcott and Armsby's present plan of 
making the observing rooms and instruments a public show, 
and the grounds between the astronomers' dwelling and the 
observatory a park for public recreation. 

The Dudley Observatory ought to add to the realm of human 
knowledge, to utilise and disseminate the knowledge thus added, 
and to furnish aid in every legitimate way to every astronomer 
throughout the earth. It ought not to be a place where every 

* Johnson, Annual Report for 1850. 



98 

observation is interrupted by curious visiters, who suppose 
the establishment to be a sort of exhibition, or where the 
instruments are continually liable to serious disturbance by 
idle and meddlesome fingers, which might, by a thoughtless or 
even accidental touch, destroy in one second the results of the 
labor of weeks. 

Such are, and have been, my views of the Dudley Observa- 
tory. To prevent all danger of misconception I developed 
them, and at much greater length, to Messrs. Olcott and Armsby 
in 1855, and on every subsequent occasion when opportunity 
permitted. They well knew and understood them ; and it was 
this knowledge which finally prompted them to the acts which 
they intended should furnish a plausible pretext for "ridding 
themselves of the Director." In the one great hope of saving 
the Observatory from becoming a by-word and reproach in 
every land where an astronomer dwells, I have sacrificed all 
on earth, except my self-respect, and the regard of those who 
understand the enormity of this case ; and with the blessing of 
God, so long as He gives me strength to resist all the power 
which overbearing and unprincipled men know how to wield, 
and so long as He spares my faculties and health in this unequal 
contest, I shall stand to my post. # If I fall a victim, it shall be 
in a cause for which those yet to come will know how to do 
justice to me and to my persecutors, and retrieve my good 
name. That lofty consciousness and strength-giving support, 
which are involved in the maintenance of eternal truth, and 
which have nerved others under intense physical torture, has 
not been mine ; but there is support in that other conscious- 
ness and conviction, that in this struggle are involved, not 
simply the interests of an institution which could be replaced 
by new donations, not simply the welfare of my own chosen 
department of science, — but in a high degree the progress of 
all Science in this our land, where its support must come from 
the warm hearts and generous purses of the people, not from 
the privileged few; and where the success of an attempt to 

* I did stand to my post, until Mr. Olcott's hired mob took forcible possession of 
the premises. 



99 

pervert a series of noble gifts to the gratification of a thirst 
for personal notoriety, or of a lust of personal power, must be 
followed by the most disastrous consequences. 

I proceed to notice the prominent points upon which Mr. 
Olcott and his coadjutors have founded their principal accusa- 
tions, both in the First and Second Attacks; giving upon each 
point such information as may appear consistent with reasona- 
ble brevity. And when the duties simultaneously fulfilled are 
borne in mind, as well as the fact, that not only have all these 
Observatory labors been unrecompensed, but the accompanying 
outlays met by simultaneous earnings from work of other kinds, 
and when to all this is added the task of preparing such a 
Reply as this, — the amount of wearing and ceaseless toil may 
perhaps be imagined. One of our leading scholars has lately 
spoken of "the indulgence usually extended to gratuitous labors 
in behalf of a meritorious cause." The words fell strangely 
on my ear. 

2. Pretexts — Renewal of Disproved Accusations. 
It will be recollected that the Observatory was transferred 
to my charge in December, 1857, by a compact which, though 
grossly violated a couple of weeks later, was ratified by the 
Board, January 19, 1858; and that as the premises were not 
then ready for occupancy, my actual removal from Cambridge 
to Albany was postponed at the advice of Mr. Olcott until 
February 20, 1858. The dwelling house was even then 
scarcely habitable, nor indeed was it so until the beginning of 
April ; but despite the privations and inconveniences which the 
step entailed, I removed to it, together with my zealous and 
enthusiastic assistants. The Observatory being thus in my 
charge, subject only to the Scientific Council, and no pretext 
for dispossessing me having been found in the natural course 
of events, one was created for the purpose. Dr. Armsby's 
visits to the Observatory on the 19th and 21st of May, accom- 
panied on the first mentioned occasion by Mr. John N. Wilder, 
and on the second by Mr. Robert H. Pruyn, were made for this 
object ; and the false pretence was set up that these Trustees 
were treated with discourtesy in my absence by three of the 



100 

assistants, Messrs. Tilton, Toomer and Winslow. No complaint, 
on the subject of these alleged grievances, was made to me. 
They were set before the public in some remarks, published 
subsequently and purporting to have been delivered as a 
speech by Mr. J. N. Wilder, before the Trustees, and in the 
two attacks of Mr. Olcott, as sanctioned by his co-Trustees of 
the majority. The true circumstances of the case were of 
course known to me, as reported immediately on my return 
home, and are fully given in another part of this Reply. They 
were also made the occasion of an indecent resolution of the 
Executive Committee, contained in the series passed by them 
May 22, of which I took proper notice in the letter of May 
31 before referred to. On the 4th of June, a meeting of the full 
Board was called by Mr. Olcott; General Van Rensselaer's 
resignation as Trustee, which the Board had at their meeting 
in March refused to accept, was taken from the files and 
accepted. Judge Harris was elected a Trustee, and the tumult 
began, which has continued to this day. Judge Harris first 
moved a resolution expelling me from "the service of the Trus- 
tees ; " and when from the strenuous and unyielding opposi- 
tion of the minority of the Board, of whom four were present, 
it seemed evident that such high-handed measures could 
not receive the sanction of the Board, a resolution was pass'- 
ed, to which the minority offered no objections. It notified 
the Scientific Council that a " want of Harmony " existed. That 
was its purport and intent, as the minority supposed. The 
Council replied, acknowledging the propriety of such an appeal, 
asking information on the subject, and promising to convene 
at Albany at a very early date. Mr. Olcott in answering, said 
that he would lay the letter before the Board, thus conveying 
the impression that he would do this in order to give official 
compliance to their request for information. Before any farther 
action, the Board was reconvened by Mr. Olcott on Saturday, 
the 26th of June, at which time he made the first public avowal 
of his hostility, by the presentation of the " Manifesto," a bitterly 
calumnious and vituperative assault upon my character as a man 
and as an astronomer, and reciting alleged grievances, almost 



101 

exclusively bearing date previous to the time when the Observatory 
was placed in my hands. This written communication (lately 
republished in pamphlet form as a "speech," together with a 
similar " speech " of the late Mr. Wilder,) was adopted at once 
by a majority of eight to four, as the expression of the views 
of the Board ; and was first seen in full by the Council on the 
29th of June, twenty-four hours after their arrival in Albany, 
although an abstract of it was published in the New York 
Times of Monday, June 28. The Council proceeded to inves- 
tigate the charges, and published the results of their investi- 
gation, absolving me from blame. Then came the Public 
Meeting of citizens and the publication of their Address. 
Next, the Second attack of the Trustees, — public journals being 
meantime kept supplied with torrents of ribald abuse, and 
both the Council and myself remaining silent until the present 
time. The only exceptions to this silence consist in two letters 
published in an Albany journal ; — the one stating the fact that 
my letters had been falsified, and fabricated passages inserted, 
and the other (written in consequence of a full denial by the 
nine Trustees,) asking an investigation by any fair means which 
could be suggested. 

Although many of the accusations of Mr. Olcott's First attack, 
are fully, completely, overwhelmingly refuted by the Scientific 
Council, they are repeated in the Second Attack, with a cool 
and unblushing assurance, which can not but astound those 
who have read and can remember the refutation. Such are the 
charges ; — Delay, Extravagance, the non-employment of the Cal- 
culating Engine, the rejection of a suitable Pier, the needless 
Apparatus for placing the piers, the Application for a place in 
Columbia College, appropriation of Moneys not my own, and 
numerous others, of which these are but illustrations. 

3. Studied Insults to the Trustees. 
On this point, it will suffice to quote my official report of 
May 23, to the Scientific Council, describing the two visitations 
of Dr. Armsby, upon which this charge is founded. It was as 
follows : 



102 

To the Scientific Council of the Dudley Observatory ; 

Gentlemen — Inclosed is a communication from the Secretary of the 
Trustees, containing votes of the Executive Committee, received on Sat- 
urday evening, the 22d instant. They require no comment from me, and 
I should be glad to receive your views as to the course proper to pursue 
under the circumstances. It is only incumbent upon me to state the facts 
which I suppose have prompted this action, as nearly as I can learn them. 

On Wednesday last, (the 19th,) Messrs. J. H. Armsby and John N. 
Wilder, the two members of the Board of Trustees who have been espe- 
cially prominent in overt acts of discourtesy, and the ones, moreover, 
chiefly concerned in giving currency to the garbled letters purporting to 
have been written by me, which were so widely circulated in December 
and January last, came to the dwelling house and demanded the keys of 
the Observatory. Mr. Tilton, who met them, said very courteously that 
he did not know where they were ; and in reply to the same question again 
repeated by both Trustees in a tone and style which he deemed offensive, 
he repeated the same answer, in a warmer tone than before. They passed 
through into the Observatory inclosure, and at their request Mr. Tilton 
applied to another assistant, Mr. Winslow, who referred them to me, for 
whom they had made no inquiry. I had left the office and was supposed 
by Mr. Tilton to have gone to the city, where he knew that I had an 
engagement. About this time, however, I returned to tie Observatory 
by mere chance, and was informed instantly by Mr. Tilton that Dr. 
Armsby and another gentlemen had asked to go into the Observatory, and 
were in a distant part of the grounds. Without hearing or knowing more, 
I hastened to them, although anxious to leave speedily, and immediately 
accosted them and invited them to the Observatory. They declined to 
consume my time, upon which I offered to send an assistant to them with 
the keys. This offer was repeated three times more in the course of a 
courteous conversation, in which they stated that their object in visiting 
the Observatory was to examine the northern boundary of the estate, 
where it is bordered by the railroad, and that they had not time to enter 
before Mr. Wilder must leave. I soon excused myself, inviting them to 
return at an early day, and then left, incidentally mentioning to Mr. Til- 
ton, on the way, that they were not desirous of entering the Observatory, 
as he had supposed. 

I had scarcely left the grounds when they again demanded (not requested) 
admission both of Messrs. Toomer and Winslow, one of whom offered to 
overtake me, and obtain authority for the purpose. The offer was per- 
emptorily declined, the two visitants insisting upon being admitted without 
reference to me, — a demand to which my assistants did not feel warranted 
in yielding, since the peculiar circumstances of the case seemed to indi- 
cate that a responsibility which they were unwilling to assume, would 
attach to a compliance with the demand. The two gentlemen then peered 
in at the windows, pounded for a long time upon the doors, and behaved 
in a manner neither dignified, gentlemanly nor decent. So far as I can 
learn, they did not inspect the boundary at all. Their language to the 
gentlemen of the Observatory seems to have been irritating and offensive, 
while the assistants seem to have controlled their natural impulses to an 
extent which demands my respect and admiration. 

Upon my return, late in the evening, the circumstances were immedi- 
ately reported to me, and at my request they were reduced to writing the 
next morning. How deeply I regretted them it is needless to say. But 



103 

I do not find that in the absence of any instructions, the assistants failed 
to manifest a forbearance and gentlemanly demeanor strikingly in contrast 
with the deportment of the two Trustees. Had the possibility of such a 
visitation ever occurred to my mind, I should not have left the assistant- 
astronomers without instructions for such a contingency. The responsi- 
bility which devolved upon them appears to have been borne with firmness 
and discretion. 

But these unpleasant circumstances were unfortunately the precursors 
of analogous ones two days later. The companion of Dr. Armsby on 
this occasion was another Trustee, Mr. Robert H. Pruyn, who had been 
informed that I hesitated at certifying to his bill against the Observatory 
of 1103, for some iron drills, — a price which I considered too high. 

By a remarkable coincidence this visit was on the only other occasion when 
I was absent in the daytime during the week. Messrs. Armsby and Pruyn 
did not inquire for me at all, but demanded the keys of the Observatory. 
Being told by Mr. Winslow that I was out, and that he had no authority 
to deliver them, Mr. Pruyn announced that he was a Trustee of the 
Observatory, and claimed admittance as such ; upon which Mr. Winslow, 
being unwilling to give a refusal which might perhaps involve me in embar- 
rassment, took the keys from my office and admitted the two Trustees. 
Mr. Toomer, entering soon after, stated, in reply to questions, that the 
key of the Circle-room was in my private drawer, from which he had never 
presumed to take anything. The language of Messrs. Armsby and Pruyn 
is represented by Messrs. Toomer, Tilton and Winslow as having been 
offensive and dictatorial. On this occasion, also, I believe that all the 
assistants were successful in preserving their self-control while manifesting 
a proper and manly spirit. 

The next morning I issued a circular order, directing that no visiters be 
admitted without permission from me, except in my absence, but authoriz- 
ing any assistant to admit them in my absence, until farther orders, — pro- 
vi ed this could be done without interfering with scientific operations going 
on at the time. 

In the evening I received the accompanying document from the Secre- 
tary, upon which I shall be glad to receive your views at the earliest con- 
venient opportunity. The carrying out of the resolutions would be of 
course incompatible with the success of the Observatory. The Secretary 
Dr. Armsby, states that they were unanimously passed ; and I am informed 
that the meeting consisted of the President, with Messrs. Wilder, Pruyn, 
Armsby, J. F. Rathbone and Yosburgh. 

Although not strictly relevant, I may add that I am aware of but one 
other occasion upon which visiters have failed to obtain admission to the 
Observatory, and courteous guidance upon application, even without 
introduction, although this has consumed an amount of time more than 
equivalent to the working hours of one assistant, — time gratuitously and 
cheerfully given by the assistant-astronomers for the sake of courtesy and 
accommodation. The exception was on the day of Messrs. Armsby and 
Wilder's visit, when two schools, with some sixty or seventy pupils, came 
up unannounced, and I was necessarily compelled to decline complying 
with their application for admission, — since the rooms contained instru- 
ments, apparatus and telegraph batteries. 
With sincere respect, 

Very faithfully yours, 

Albany, 1858, May 23. B. A. GOULD, Jr. 



104 

On the basis of these two alleged cases of discourtesy of my 
assistants, in my absence, the Executive Committee passed 
their most indecorous and insulting resolutions, " intended'' (to 
quote their own language) " as a rebuke to Dr. Gould, for what 
was deemed a studied insult, upon his part, through those in 
his employ, to some of the Trustees!" A pretended act of 
discourtesy, by my assistants, in my absence, is imputed to me 
as a "studied insult!" This carries vicarious responsibility 
farther than anybody but Mr. Olcott ever before dreamed of. 
In replying to them it was my endeavor to use all the forbear- 
ance due to self-respect, and most assuredly all those forms of 
deference due to the station of a "legal guardian." Thus 
arose the pretext for my attempted dismissal. 

It may be well to mention that I requested of the Executive 
Committee any facts in their possession which could warrant 
such a resolution relative to my assistants, but that no notice 
was taken of this request. As for myself, even Mr. Olcott, in 
his Manifesto, bears this testimony to my personal demeanor : 

"I am influenced by no feelings of personal unkindness towards Dr. 
Gould. In our private intercourse he has ever been courteous and gentle- 
manly. I am influenced only by considerations of duty to the Observatory !" 

4. Unnecessary Belay — Wasteful Expenditures. 

When Dr. Armsby, in August, 1855, sought to enlist, at Provi- 
dence, the interest and co-operation of the gentlemen who were 
a fortnight later elected the Scientific Council of the Observa- 
tory, the Institution consisted of a building situated upon a 
hill, and provided with a corps of fifteen Trustees. This build- 
ing was faulty to an extreme, in construction. Those portions 
of an Observatory which distinguish it from other edifices, 
were, to a great extent, wanting. There were places for 
meridian-apertures in the two wings and foundations for the 
piers ; but the appliances to make them useful were wanting, 
and no provision existed to allow the piers to be brought 
inside the buildings without tearing down the walls. A dome 
had been built, not only unprovided with apparatus for rotation, 
but too heavy to permit of any rotation except by means of very 
powerful apparatus, and with great slowness. It was subse- 



quently found, on removing the tinning which covered the 
aperture, that the dome was incapable of bearing its own 
weight, after this tin was removed ; and that the racking which 
would result from rotating it by any appliances whatsoever, 
would, in all probability, cause it to fall to pieces, — destroying 
any instrument which might be within, as well as endangering 
the life of the observer. The partition-walls of the building 
were of massive masonry, descending nearly to the depth of 
the pier foundations, and only separated from them by a few 
feet. The tremor occasioned by every blast of wind is even 
now instantly communicated to the isolated piers, in conse- 
quence of the faulty construction of the foundations of the 
partition walls. These fundamental and irremediable errors 
were the types of equally grave although remediable ones. 

Such was the Observatory — a building better adapted for a 
country residence than for an astronomical institution ;— situated 
on the brow of a hill, below which, at a distance of some rods 
from the edifice, the heavily laden trains of the N. Y. Cen- 
tral Railroad daily travel, jarring the earth to an extent more 
than perceptible to the unaided sense. These prospects were 
not attractive to an astronomer; but the earnest representa- 
tions and unbounded promises of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, 
overbalanced all that was unpromising. 

The gentlemen represented to us that the institution had 
lain dormant and effete for three years ; that Prof. Mitchel 
had fed them on false hopes and expectations, until he had 
alienated all his friends; that at last the variance had become 
irreconcilable, and the relations brought to a close by mutual 
consent ; that Prof. Mitchel had promised to establish an 
Astronomical Observatory if they would raise $25,000; but 
that after this sum had been collected, and expended under his 
direction, nothing remained but a building, to equip which 
would probably cost as much more ; that, with proper scien- 
tific support, they were certain that an endowment might 
be raised which would afford an annual income of ten or 
twelve thousand dollars ; and that if we would take charge of 
the scientific affairs, they would themselves be responsible for 



106 

the finances. ' We listened to their words and believed them 
to be sincere. Yet in order that no misunderstanding might 
exist, we told them of the needs of a first class Observatory, 
and of our firm belief that to establish an Observatory by 
providing building and instruments, without the means requisite 
for the support of observers and computers, would be productive 
of no advancement to science; but, on the contrary, would 
tend to the disrepute of the nation by adding to the already 
large number of excellent instruments in the land, which are 
unemployed in useful astronomical observations. They expressed 
a sense of the force of our reasoning and views, and promised 
to be guided by them ; and it was distinctly understood 
between the Scientific Council, on the one hand, and Messrs^ 
Olcott and Armsby on the other, that no attempt should be 
made towards putting the Observatory into practical operation 
until an adequate endowment should be secured. To leave 
noble instruments unused, or to leave observations unreduced, 
would be, in our judgement, discreditable. To reduce observa- 
tions properly, requires in general an amount of time six or 
eight times greater than is needed for making them, and is a 
work which must be performed by trained computers. 

At the earnest instance of the supposed Executive Committee, 
I visited Europe for the purpose of ordering the instruments, 
being absent three months ; and, from that time, labored by every 
exertion within my power in the advancement of the great 
work. To say that I contributed, on an average, three hours a 
day during the two years, from Jan. 1856, to Jan. 1858, would 
probably be to make an under-estimate. With the exception of 
a few orders given by me, and a few purchases made at the 
request of Mr. Olcott and Dr. Armsby, — I had nothing whatever 
to do with any matter involving the payment or the receipt of 
money. With the exception of the money for the Meridian-circle 
and the Calculating Machine, (which was transmitted by me, 
because these purchases were made through me,) no funds passed 
through my hands, except such as were advanced by me for the 
Trustees, and subsequently refunded. The only bills, within my 
remembrance, which I certified for payment by the Trustees, 



107 

were for the architect's pay during a few months, for books, 
and for the clocks, dials and chronographs, the purchase money 
amounting to perhaps $2000. 

It was judged best by Mr. Olcott that no general public 
appeal for an endowment should be made until the Inaugura- 
tion; and as the period for that celebration approached, two 
letters were prepared by the Scientific Council, at his request, 
in which the amount requisite for the endowment was distinctly 
stated; and the opinion of the Council was strongly expressed 
that it would be even better that the instruments should lie 
idle for a time, than to commence with an inadequate income. 
These letters, together with sundry letters from eminent Euro- 
pean astronomers, taking the same ground, were printed by 
the Executive Committee, for use in obtaining donations, and, 
together with a private one from Prof. Bache, (written at Mr. 
Olcott's request, and grossly distorted to the reverse of its true 
meaning by the Accusers, on page 22 of their " Statement,") 
prompted Mrs. Dudley to her splendid contribution of $50,000 
towards the endowment on the day of the inauguration. Mrs. 
Dudley's letter, and the letter of the Council, to which she 
distinctly refers in her own, are given in the Appendix, and 
may both be found in the genuine edition of the Observatory 
pamphlet. 

Soon after this period an organized effort was made by the 
Executive Committee for obtaining donations in New York. 
The letters of the Scientific Council were printed and widely 
circulated, and applications based upon the guaranty thus given. 
Even the personal exertions of two of the Council were called 
upon to assist Mr. Olcott; Profs. Bache and Henry addressed 
the Executive Committee of the Board of Underwriters at 
length ; and, according to Mr. Olcott's statement at the time, 
secured its unanimous recommendation to the mercantile com- 
munity. I have not the means of knowing with any certainty 
either what amount has been received, or what amount has 
been expended. 

The plans for the adaptation of the buiiding, and for the 
construction of the shutters, so much harped upon by Mr. 
Olcott, were prepared under my personal supervision, and 
embody my own views. Be they good or bad, I accept the full 



108 

responsibility for them. Much of their merit in detail is due 
to Mr. Hodgins, the architect; but for their general character 
I am responsible. Were they to be constructed anew there are 
but few changes which I would be inclined to make. But every- 
thing pertaining to the execution of these plans I disavow and 
repudiate. The bargains were made without my knowledge ; 
the contractors were persons unknown to me at the time ; the 
amounts paid have, except in two instances hereafter to be 
mentioned, never been within my knowledge. This was, more- 
over, perfectly conformable to our understanding, that the 
scientific supervision was to be mine, the financial arrange- 
ments theirs. If any plans of mine could not be executed with- 
in their means, it was their right and their imperative duty to 
have said so at the time. Of the constant marring of my plans 
by the officious and ignorant, — though probably at first well 
intended, — intermeddling of Dr. Armsby, I shall speak in 
connection. 

The work went very slowly on, one mishap succeeding 
another. Most of these mishaps could have been prevented by 
the exercise of ordinary discretion, on the part of Dr. Armsby, 
who assumed and exercised the general charge, — avowedty, 
except for a very short period, when I consented to do this 
myself, — practically always, as I soon discovered, and surrend- 
ered the brief superintendence in despair. 

The delays, bad as they were for the general welfare of the 
institution, were not considered as vital except in so far as 
attended with needless expense ; for it still continued to be the 
definite and distinct understanding, that no commencement 
should be made as an active Observatory, until adequate means 
for the support of observers and computers should be obtained. 
Only when the intrigues of the latter part of 1857 began was 
the contrary idea entertained. By the artful suppression of 
this fundamental fact, the authors of the " Statement of the 
Trustees " convey the idea, that during all this period, while 
toiling unremittingly for the welfare of the new institution, I 
was feeding them with false hopes ; and for some unexplained 
purpose — connected with ignorance and incompetency — was 
delaying and postponing the completion of the Observatory. 



109 

From this brief narrative, it will be manifest how unfounded 
and wicked are the charges of the "Statement," covering the time 
prior to the meeting of January. 

I aver that the " delays " neither were, nor in the nature of 
the case could have been, due to any agency of mine 4 that 
I toiled earnestly, unceasingly and cheerfully, for the sake of 
contributing my share towards the establishment of a noble 
institution; that the definite understanding from the beginning 
in 1855 was, that the Observatory should go into operation 
only when the adequate means should have been secured, which 
was their business, not mine ; that Mr. Olcott assured us that 
these means, (an endowment equivalent to not less than $10,000 
a year,) could and would be attained by the time the buildings 
were completed; and that all our plans for the Observatory 
were predicated upon this assumption. 

I aver that in the expenditures of the two years, 1856 and 
1857, excepting the unavoidable and very moderate outlays 
to which I have already referred, I had neither part nor lot; that 
I neither selected the contractors, gave them orders, nor knew 
what the bargains were ; that large sums were expended with- 
out my knowledge, — to what extent I am of course unaware; 
that large outlays were incurred for objects which it was known 
that I disapproved, and others still for purposes which Dr. 
Armsby must have known that I would have disapproved if 
consulted. 

I suppose it admits of no doubt that a great portion of the 
money given for the endowment, except Mrs. Dudley's gift, 
and even part of that, was expended for objects other than 
those for which the donations were made. I believe the plans 
for the modification of the building and the necessary equip- 
ments might have been carried out with thoroughness for one- 
third part of the cost with which it is alleged that they were 
attended. And that the origin of the present difficulties had 
much to do with Mr. Olcott's desire to conceal the true state 
of the finances, as well as with Dr. Armsby's petty vexation 
at my opposition to his injudicious, extravagant, and often 
absurd schemes. 



110 

5. Nonfulfilment of Promises. 

From the beginning to the end of the Attacks, one of the 
chief accusations is, that I fed the Trustees on false hopes, and 
plied them with promises which were never fulfilled. This 
accusation is kept steadily in view ; it is brought in distinct 
language more than once, is insinuated on every possible occa- 
sion, and the support of it is apparently the sole motive for the 
publication of many of the alleged extracts from my letters, 
and for the falsification of the same. 

It is alleged or insinuated in unmistakable terms in the ''State- 
ment," that, among other things, I promised : — 

That by my personal exertions, "the instruments could all be 
landed in Albany" before August, 1856, (p. 10); 

That both the Transit Instrument and the Meridian Circle 
should be "mounted" not much later than May, 1856, (p. 48) ; 

That the instruments should bring "into the treasury of the 
Observatory a very respectable and gratifying income" (!), 
(p. 45); 

That the whole Observatory would be in working order at 
the end of August, 1856, (p. 18); 

That at the same period "the trains on every railroad center- 
ing in Albany" should be regulated " by the click of the Corn- 
ing clock," (p. 13); 

That a "dropping time ball in every great city on the conti- 
nent," and "all over the State" should then be governed by 
this same time-piece at Albany, (pp. 14, 15); 

That this should also be made a source of revenue to the 
Observatory (1), (pp. 12, 14). 

All these promises are distinctly stated, or as distinctly 
implied in so many words, to have been made by me. And, in 
addition to these, there runs all through their book the same 
insinuation, although often so adroitly conveyed that more 
space would be requisite for exposing it than can be spared for 
what is, after all, so small a part of their enormous aggregate 
of falsehood and slander. 

Now I assert in the broadest, fullest, most unqualified, and 
most unrestricted language that I know how to use, — that all 



Ill 

these allegations of my Accusers about rny promises (let alone 
the non-fulfilment of them), are utterly, thoroughly, scandalously 
false — destitute not only of truth, but even of a color of truth. 
I made them no such promises, nor any one of them, nor any 
one like them. I never promised these men anything, from the 
first day I ever saw or heard of them, in August, 1855, down to 
this present moment, except that so much of my earnest, 
unpurchased, devoted efforts as I could give should be at their 
service, to aid in the endeavor to build up a great national 
astronomical Observatory; one of which every American might 
be proud, and which might, directly and indirectly, contribute 
to the advancement of science in the republic. All the promises 
came from them, or rather from their active agents, Messrs. 
Olcott and Armsby, and from them alone. 

They promised that no step towards putting the institution 
into active operation should be attempted until an endowment 
fund should be secured, competent to support a full complement 
of observers, and to reduce the observations as fast as they 
should be made. 

They promised that they would take full and exclusive 
charge of the financial affairs ; — leaving myself and the other 
members of the Scientific Council free from responsibility in 
every thing pertaining to money ; but intrusting us with the 
exclusive management of the astronomical concerns of the 
institution. 

They promised that they would abstain as far as possible 
from the public announcements and the vauntings through the 
newspapers, which were so much opposed to my wishes, and 
which occasioned me, as they knew, so much annoyance. 

And they promised that they would use their earnest efforts 
towards making the institution a place for thorough scientific 
research, and not for popular amusement or parade. 

Whether any one of these promises has been fulfilled, the 
reader is perfectly competent to judge. 

The idea to which they still seem fondly to cling, in spite of 
the numerous disavowals of them by Messrs. Olcott and Armsby 
in past years, are, that an astronomical Observatory is to be 



112 

made a source of " revenue." And in the language which they 
falsely put into my mouth, the ideas of parade and pomp 
show that both the words and the ideas are theirs, not mine. 

The "splendor of the promised Heliometer " (p. 15); "the 
glories of the" "Corning Clock" (p. 15); " the largest and 
best instrument of its kind in the world 11 (p. 9); "the glories 
of the model instruments" (p. 24); "this splendid instrument" 
[the Transit] (pp. 86, 133); "this splendid instrument" [the 
Circle] (pp. 154, 156) ; — such are the phrases in which these 
censors of astronomical attainment, allude to instruments con- 
stucted for the one leading purpose of securing in the observa- 
tions, that very refinement, delicacy, "superlative accuracy," 
"transcendental precision," "excessive particularity," at which 
they have leveled the shafts of their wit and sarcasm. 

Perhaps there is no better connection than this, in which to 
speak of the intense mortification occasioned to me by the 
pomp and circumstance with which these gentlemen have 
heralded, through the newspapers and otherwise, every step 
taken in the progress of the Observatory. None other than 
myself, excepting these two men, Messrs. Armsby and Olcott, 
can ever know the urgent entreaty, the almost suppliant 
appeals, with which I have implored them to abstain from this 
braggart course ; none but they know, or can know, the reluct- 
ance with which I have consented to appear, to some extent, 
even as a party in those manifestations, in order that, by 
sacrificing my personal pride, and yielding in some degree, it 
might become possible for me to restrain them from the exuber- 
ance of still more distasteful display. This disposition on my 
part prompted to sundry acts and words, by which I hoped, 
through surrender of personal feeling, to contribute to the 
ultimate preservation of some dignity for the institution to 
whose welfare I was surrendering every personal consideration 
whatsoever. I well knew the ridicule which such a display of 
ostentation could not fail to draw upon myself; and the regret 
with which my scientific friends abroad would see these appa- 
rently new developments in my character ; but I made the 
sacrifice and said nothing. 



113 

There was one special condition, upon which I insisted with 
Messrs. Olcott and Arrasby at the beginning of my connection 
with the Observatory, in August, 1855. And I repeated it at 
every successive stage of the enterprise, even so late as Nov., 
1857. This was, that no services which I might give should 
be deemed a pledge that I would remove to Albany. Only 
when the very salvation of the Institution suddenly seemed to 
hang upon the issue, did I decide to come. I came, leaving 
much, to assume without worldly remuneration, with the 
prospect of a probable outlay heavier than my means could well 
afford, the burden of an institution of which the highest expecta- 
tions had been raised, yet which was represented to me privately 
as bankrupt in treasury, although yet unfinished ; an institu- 
tion whose most prominent "responsible guardians" were men 
such as I had begun to perceive Messrs. Olcott and Armsby to 
be ; in a city where an organized system of malignant attack 
had already been actually commenced through the public press 
by Messrs. Armsby and Peters ; and where my acquaintances 
were but few, and these too, as I had reason to believe, already 
reached, privately as well as publicly, by the poisonous slanders 
of these men concerning me. 

The event has proved in some respects worse than I had 
anticipated ; for I had no conception of the depth of depravity 
which this contest has developed and made manifest in my 
assailants. Apart from the public attacks to which I am 
now publicly replying, no means of private detraction have 
been too base for some of them. The ingenuity of man 
could scarely devise a system of moral undermining, character- 
ized by more low cunning and insatiate meanness than that in 
which the pertinacious and insinuating energies of Dr. Armsby 
have been ceaselessly at work during the past six months, to 
embroil me, if possible, with every friend whom he knew or 
supposed me to possess. No misstatement, no manoeuvre, no 
intrigue has been too base or too vile. Doubtless I know of 
but a small proportion of them, but they are enough to excite 
a sense of loathing in the bosom of every respectable man who 
shall become cognizant of them. I have suffered them to pass 
in scorn and contempt. 



114 

But in other respects my residence in Albany has led to 
results far more comforting and cheering than it could have 
been warrantable to anticipate. It has blessed me with a cir- 
cle of new friends, whom it has been a privilege to know and to 
love. Men of honor, truth and spirit, families of refinement 
and ennobling sympathy, have welcomed me among the num- 
ber of their chosen friends and companions. Whatever be the 
issue of the contest, its bitterness has not been unalloyed ; and 
the happy memories of the pleasant homes and the warm 
hearts which have mitigated its dreariness will never be eradi- 
cated. 

Notwithstanding the totally false assertion in the " State- 
ment," (p. 146), that "the office of Director" "had not been 
tendered " to me, this office was distinctly urged upon my 
acceptance by Messrs. Olcott and Armsby six or eight times 
during the years 1856 and 185*7, and their solicitations were 
more than once accompanied by the offer of a specific salary. 
These offers were uniformly and instantly declined, with the 
remark that there were many astronomers in the country quite 
as competent as myself, to say the least, — a candid and correct 
declaration which was always gainsayed in the politest manner 
by these gentlemen. By men, too, who now flatly assert that, 
previous certainly to two of these offers and compliments, they 
had discovered me to be ignorant, pretentious, offensive, dila- 
tory, wasteful, dishonorable, deceitful, overbearing, unscrupu- 
lous, intriguing, meddlesome, slanderous, grasping, insolent, 
reckless, and unpractical, — for each of these faults had, accord- 
ing to the present showing of the Accusers, been detected by 
them in my otherwise not altogether perfect character, previous 
to October, 185*7. The incompetency and peculation were 
not detected until Mr. Olcott's attempt to "get rid of the 
Director," in June, 1858. This "office of Director" was 
repeatedly urged upon me, and as repeatedly declined, and the 
opportunity seized to say that, until the Observatory was ready 
for active operation, such services as I could render were 
cordially at the disposal of the institution, provided they 
were not to be considered as committing me in any way to 



115 

assume the personal charge, when the astronomical observations 
should commence. Remuneration for my services, and reim- 
bursement of my expenses were certainly twice, and I think 
three times, offered me, and were as often declined, with the 
expression of my regret that I had not silver and gold also to 
contribute towards this useful and honorable enterprise. My 
reserve as to assuming the eventual charge was a matter of 
principle and of feeling. I meant to keep myself free and to 
keep the Trustees free, from any positive commitment; and to 
govern myself finally by considerations of discretion and duty 
when the time to act upon the question should arrive. If our 
plans as devised should be perfected and successfully executed, 
it is easy to conceive of circumstances which would give me 
equal gratification, whether I should myself take the immediate 
charge, or see it placed in other hands, commanding my full con- 
fidence that the grand design of the Observatory would be 
fulfilled. 

The idea of giving time to the cities of New York and Alba- 
ny, and of furnishing time to the railroad stations, was, of 
course, advocated and encouraged by me, — for every man of 
science is glad to see his scientific labors made to contribute 
to the welfare and advantage of the community ; and the making 
of such contributions to the public convenience as time- 
signals afford, is one of the legitimate functions of an astro- 
nomical observatory. That I offered on the part of the 
Observatory, to furnish the Central railroad with time for 
$1,500 a year, and that this time was to be furnished for 
the sake of obtaining a revenue, is untrue. The letter alluded 
to says as follows : 

"Arrangements of this kind would, of course, be attended with con- 
siderable expense, and would require constant attention and care at the 
Observatory ; and while the Dudley Observatory would feel that it was 
fulfilling one of its important aims in thus contributing to the material 
welfare of the State, it would expect from the railroad a sufficient appro- 
priation to cover the expenses to which it would be subjected. It, there- 
fore, proposes to furnish this time to any or all of the stations of your 
road, — superintending at the same time the necessary adaptation of the 
station-clocks, in case the directors prefer that these clocks he automat- 
ically set right at stated intervals, — and asking $1,000 a year as remu- 
neration." 



116 

The statements, that the offer was at once accepted; that 
"Dr. Gould's performance of his engagement," as the Accusers 
call this, as yet unaccepted, proposition, made by the wish of 
their own agents, would have secured $1,500 of income; that it 
would have secured any essential income over and above the 
remuneration for the expense and labor entailed, are — like the 
analogous assertions of the Accusers relative to furnishing 
time-signals to New York city, — wilfully, knowingly, totally 
untrue. I shall refer to them in full under the head of" Clocks 
and Time-signals." 

The attempts to make me appear responsible for the non- 
completion of the Heliometer, the Meridian Circle, and the 
Normal Clock by the specified time, are palpably unjust and 
unreasonable. I did my best, obtained the promises of the 
makers, selected men at once responsible and competent, and, 
in the case of the Heliometer, the very one whom the Managers 
urged upon me. These men are capable of answering for them- 
selves; and only a bitter determination to persecute, and to 
"crush" at all hazards, could have prompted the nefarious 
scheme of holding me up to public odium, in consequence of the 
non-completion of the instruments at the expected period. To 
make me out as blame-worthy would be ungracious under any 
circumstances, if I tried to do well, and labored out of devotion 
to the enterprise alone. It is iniquitous, unless it can be shown 
that I did not exercise my best efforts in behalf of the Obser- 
vatory, or that these best efforts were indiscreet, or that I was 
accessory to the delay. The authors of the pamphlet well 
knew, that no exertions of mine were wanting to accelerate 
matters, and that the artists of the Circle have made out a very 
strong case for themselves in excuse for their delay. 

6. Incompetency and Peculation. 

The accusers quote, on page 110, the language of Mr. Olcott, 

in his Manifesto, as adopted by the majority: 

M The truth," he says, " in my judgement, lies in a nutshell. It is a 
discreet unwillingness to test his skill as a practical astronomer." 

If this does not mean to charge incompetence, as an astrono- 
mer, the words have no meaning. But this Second Attack con- 
tains an ingenious argument of some pages, to show that, after 



117 

all, there was not much of a charge made, if any; but taking 
care, however, to repeat the identical accusation. The " State- 
ment," says : 

" Much ado has been made by the Scientific Council and their sympa- 
thizers, about these charges of incompetency and peculation. Under the 
head of 'Incompetency,' in the 'Defence,' the Scientific Council say, 
" We cannot refrain from expressing our astonishment that Mr. Olcott 
should presume to pronounce a judgment in this case." The sympathi- 
zers, too, affect to be greatly shocked at the temerity of Mr. Olcott in 
thus daring to decide upon the scientific qualifications of Dr. Gould. The 
prominence which these gentlemen have given to this point and their loud 
expressions of indignation have not been without their effect. They have 
led some honest men to believe that there was something in it ; and that, 
really, Mr. Olcott had done some great injustice to the scientific reputa- 
tion of Dr. Gould." (pages 108, 109). 

What else could any candid man believe ? The words are 
pointed ; they admit of no escape ; they charge that I did 
not mount the instruments on account of "a discreet unwill- 
ingness to test his [my] skill as a practical astronomer." 

The Accusers go on : 

" That there may be no misapprehension about it, and that equal justice 
may be done, it will be worth while to go back and see what charge had 
been made against Dr. Gould in this respect." 

and proceed with an elaborate mystification under the guise of 
a history, in the course of which they remark : 

" Others may not have had the courage to express it, but Mr. Olcott 
was not alone in the opinion he entertained." 

" This was Mr. Olcott's opinion. It may be the opinion of others. 
The Scientific Council entertain a different opinion." 

It has been well remarked, that the public suppose me to be 
contending with these Accusers for some good place, some fat 
salary; that it is impossible to believe, that my services have 
not only been unrecompensed from the beginning, save by my 
own conscience and the support and approval of beloved and 
honored friends, but also that the operations at the Observa- 
tory have been supported and carried on by means of my 
slender earnings alone. This is, however, the simple truth ; 
and the knowledge of it may perhaps not be without its influence 
in suggesting to the reader the character of the motives which 
animate my persecutors. 



118 

It is in connection with this charge of incompetency ? that the 
Accusers allege, that "for nearly three years, Dr. Gould had been 
promising great things for the Observatory, but accomplishing 
nothing;' 7 a most scandalous, ungrateful and unprincipled mis. 
representation; — false in the statement and false in the in- 
ference. 

The precise reverse of their statement is much nearer to the 
truth; for, having promised nothing, I had yet accomplished 
much. During this period, I had actually worked up the plans 
for the changes in the building, and, under the Executive Com- 
mittee, had labored for their execution; had devoted myself 
zealously to procuring instruments in conformity with my own 
views of construction, and in giving constant advice as to the 
preparations for their accommodation; contributing all this 
labor, time, and thought, while engaged in other occupations 
necessary for my support, and rendered more than usually 
severe, by the necessity for heavy additional labors to make up 
for a three months absence in Europe, also in the gratuitous 
service of the Dudley Observatory. Finally, I was in no degree 
responsible if nothing had been done; for during this whole 
interval, I had, except for a brief period, not even nominally 
the charge of affairs at the Observatory. All these labors were 
well known to Mr. Olcott and Dr. Armsby, if not to the rest of 
the Trustees, when Mr. Olcott in his Manifesto uttered the 
base innuendo : 

" Why do these noble instruments remain so long in their Wx.es,. wheta 
every astronomer, conscious of his own ability, would pant for the unfold- 
ing glories which they are expected to reveal?" 

This sentence was written in June, when it was known to the 

author of the attack, and to some, at least, of his supporters,. 

that the meridian circle was already actually "mounted," and 

that the clock and chronograph had been in working condition 

for nearly two years. The same sentence, with its absurd 

rhetoric, is adopted and approvingly repeated in the Second 

Attack. The "Statement" is emphatic in insisting that what 

Mr. Olcott said, and 

11 All that he said, in reference to the incompetency of Dr. Gould," 
was this : 



119 

11 The truth, in my judgment, lies in a nut-shell. It is a discreet 
unwillingness to test his skill as practical astronomer;" 

as if all this went to prove that the charge had not been made ! 
Forgetting that the majority had themselves indorsed the 
charge, or hoping that the public might forget it, the "State- 
ment " introduces Mr. Olcott as bringing the charge upon his 
own responsibility, while at the same time it proceeds with the 
full sanction of the same majority to sustain it by the signifi- 
cant and contemptible suggestion, 

" Mr. Olcott was not alone in the opinion he entertained," 
and 

11 Mr. Olcott's opinion . . . may be the opinion of others." 

Following an attempt to excite prejudice against those who 
had defended me, comes a reluctant admission that the world 

"May place a higher value upon the opinion of Professor Bache and 
Prof. Henry and Prof. Peirce, than upon the opinion of Mr. Olcott." 

Still, in the judgement of the signers of the " Statement," this 
is only " opinion against opinion," for they say, 

4 'It is certain that the skill of Dr. Gould, as a practical astronomer, 
remains to be tested." 

44 It is certainly true, that it has not been tested at the Dudley Observa- 
tory ;" 

A thoroughly false statement, backed by what certainly would 
be a truth, if the Managers had had ingenuity enough to put a 
few more obstructions in my way ! And finally the Accusers 
sum up the matter by saying that it is very likely, 

"That the professional reputation of Dr. Gould may suffer serious 
damage, as the result of this controversy," &c. 

44 But it will not be because, in looking around for a cause to which to 
ascribe the unaccountable procrastination which has characterized his 
whole career in the Dudley Observatory, Mr. Olcott came to the conclu- 
sion that such cause was to be found in his distrust of his own ability, as a 
practical astronomer." 

A miserable rigmarole of words, the English of which is 
this : — Mr. Olcott did impute to Dr. Gould a conscious incom- 
petency, and now declares that Dr. Gould's professional repu- 
tation is very likely to suffer as the result of this charge ; but 
yet, somehow, — Heaven may know how, — it will not be because 
the charge was made ! It signifies, moreover, nothing to Mr. 
Olcott, that this same Dr. Gould, who is charged elsewhere by 



120 

him with arrogance and conceit, is here made to distrust his 
own abilities; or that this same Dr. Gould, who, according to 
the unblushingly mendacious assertions of the " Statement," 
whined in the presence of the Trustees in January, in the most 
humiliating manner, and begged them to " give him their votes " 
for Director, — did all this in order that he might have the 
opportunity for displaying his ignorance of mounting and using 
the instruments and might thus damage seriously, if not alto- 
gether destroy, his reputation as a practical astronomer ! 

What a specimen of argument is this for intelligent men to 
employ ! Yet this is the manner in which this pamphlet han- 
dles so grave a question as the professional competency of one 
to whom honor and repute are supposed to be worth something — 
of one whom the Accusers themselves, with full knowledge of 
him, and with all their faculties about them, had so recently 
placed in the sole and exclusive charge of the Dudley Observa- 
tory; this is the manner, too, in which they expect to impose 
upon the good sense of the community. 

I pass to another topic. The Accusers utterly deny that the 
charge of peculation or dishonesty was ever made against me. 

"The only other charge," they say " which the Scientific Council regard 
as serious, is that -which they choose to designate as "peculation" and in 
another place they speak of it under the name of dishonesty. That any 
such charge has been made, or even intimated against Dr. Gould, is the 
merest pretence." 

Eeferring to a letter of mine, in which I had alluded to the 
fact that while myself and my assistants were devoting our 
leisure time to the Observatory, we were still pursuing our 
accustomed labors in determining longitudes for the Coast 
Survey, on which our subsistence depended, — Mr. Olcott affect- 
ed to believe that the "longitude determinations" therein 
spoken of, meant nothing else than the particular and gratui- 
tous service (so far as our labor was concerned), then in con- 
templation, of determining the longitude of the Observatory 
for the State. And he thus declared in his Manifesto : 

" This disclosed the fact which now, for the first time, comes to our 
knowledge, that not the Coast Survey, but Dr. Could, individually, 
pockets, in addition to his salary, the very considerable income from lon- 
gitude determinations. This truly solves a problem, as he states, and 
explains his past anxiety to grasp the legislative appropriation." 



121 

The "Statement" quotes this passage and then coolly asks 
whether there is in it " anything that, by any possible impli- 
cation, involves a charge of peculation or dishonesty V 1 

It is not necessary to go into legal definitions. The charge 
had relation to the sum of $600, of money from the State, 
placed in my hands to cover the actual cost to which the 
United States Coast Survey had been put in determining a 
point of longitude for the State. And Mr. Olcott professed to 
have discovered that somehow, no matter how, whether by or 
without collusion on the part of the Superintendent of the 
Coast Survey, this sum of $600, or some secret and unknown 
amount of profit out of it, was pocketed by me individually. 
And to this actual discovery of my peculation, dishonesty, or 
fraud, call it what we may, was added the avowal of a belief 
on the part of my Accusers, that any anxiety I had exhibited 
to secure, to the use of the Observatory, the balance of the 
State appropriation, amounting to $1400, had arisen solely 
from my desire and purpose to appropriate that sum, or some 
undefined portion of it, dishonestly, to my own use. 

It is in reference to these palpable imputations of infamous 
conduct cast upon my character, and after they had been 
indignantly repelled and the clear proof of their gratuitous 
falsity presented by the Scientific Council in the "Defence," 
that Mr. Olcott dares to ask "the candid reader" of the 
"Statement," whether "by any possible implication," these 
imputations involve a charge of peculation or dishonesty. 

But Mr. Olcott, while he was anxious to relieve himself of 
the odium of having originally made the charge, was equally 
anxious and resolved that I should not be relieved from the 
infamy it involved. He actually proceeds, therefore, to adduce 
testimony (the utter fallacy of which I shall expose in another 
place), to show that the actual cost, to the Coast Survey, of 
the longitude measurement in question, which I had declared 
to have been $928.94, was probably less than $200, so as to 
leave the inference of a wide margin for dishonest profits ; 
and he winds up a lengthened commentary on the whole case, 
in this aspect, by declaring that he, calling himself, as he often 
does, ' the Trustees,' is not 
9 



122 

" yet able to determine how the matter stands between Prof. Bache and 
Dr. Gould, * # * whether the $600 received by Dr. Gould belongs 
to him, or to Prof. Bache, or to the Coast Survey," &c, &c. 

He repeats, in this characteristic manner, that there was 
peculation or dishonesty somewhere in this transaction ; and 
that if I did not pocket dishonest profits out of the money of 
the State, or the Observatory, Prof. Bache did, either for him- 
self or for the Coast Survey ! 

This attack upon the Superintendent of the Coast Survey is 
in continuation of the policy which I have already exposed. 
The Accusers present a letter, obtained for the purpose, from 
Mr. W. C. Bond, — whose connection with the Coast Survey is 
well known, — in order to show that the longitude determinations 
of that work cost more than they should, and to invite investi- 
gation ! The malignity of thus bringing a national work into 
question, and running the risk of injuring it, because the gentle- 
man who is its Superintendent is engaged in a controversy 
with them about the concerns of the Dudley Observatory, is too 
obvious to require comment. It is as if the members of the 
Scientific Council should go into the concerns of the Mechanics' 
and Farmers' bank, of which Mr. Olcott is President, and attack 
them, and his investments and expenditures, and seek to pro- 
duce a panic in regard to the manner in which its affairs are 
conducted, and in regard to the solvency of the institution. 
The baseness of the attack on the Coast Survey is greater, in 
the same proportion that a national and scientific establish- 
ment is more important than a local and financial one. A let- 
ter "procured through the kindness of a friend," from Mr. 
Bond, is quoted to prove that an unnecessary expenditure was 
made in the longitude determinations. To make a trustworthy 
estimate on this subject required that the data should be care- 
fully furnished. That this was not the case, Mr. Olcott knew. 

Mr. Bond himself says: 

"If, as I understand is the case at the Dudley Observatory, the Tran- 
sit instrument is in position and the Clock properly arranged," 

thus referring to a state of things which Mr. Olcott, at 
least, knew did not exist at the commencement of the longi- 
tude operations. There were two Transit instruments belong- 



123 

ing to the Coast Survey, on the premises — the large and the 
small one. Had the former been employed, the cost of put- 
ting it up and adjusting it, alone, would not have been less, 
and would probably have been decidedly more than $150, — 
three-fourths of the sum now named by Mr. Bond for the whole 
expense of the longitude determination. The small Transit — 
an instrument obtained and employed by the Coast Survey for 
this purpose only, one decidedly preferable for the purpose, and 
the one actually employed — required a foundation pier and a 
building for shelter, the combined expense of which could not 
be much less. But a more full discussion of this particular 
point will be given elsewhere. 

The appropriation of $2,000, from the State, it is under- 
stood, was procured by the lobby agent of the Trustees of the 
Dudley Observatory, Mr. R. H. Pruyn; and the Trustees are 
responsible for procuring it, as well as for the use they make 
of it. 

Six hundred dollars, and no more, have been paid by them, 
and the arrangement by which the Coast Survey and the State 
of New York has divided the cost of a work required by each, 
has been mutually advantageous to the government of the 
United States and to the State. 

But I must notice another base accusation in this connection. 
The Accusers say : 

" It may be proper, also, here to state, that, since the proposition to 
undertake this work was made in January, Dr. Gould has stated to 
several members of the Board of Trustees, that it would occupy twenty- 
five months, and that the work would be of such a character as to render 
it impossible to do any other Observatory work during that period." 
(Page 116.) 

It is positively untrue that I have ever stated, to any 
one, that the work would occupy twenty-five months, or that 
it was of such a character as to make it impossible to do 
any other Observatory work during that period. I give 
these assertions the fullest, broadest denial. The work was 
not to interfere with Observatory work at all; as is perfectly- 
evident from the fact that I was to do it as additional Coast 
Survey work, and that it would consequently have nothing to 



124 

do with labors performed as Director of the Observatory. And 
yet these six lines and a half are but a specimen of this pam- 
phlet, which purports to give a "statement" of facts! 

The mystery which these ingenious special pleaders would 
throw around the subject does not exist. On the contrary, the 
expenditures are explicitly stated, item by item, in the " De- 
fence/' * and. the affair has no mystery about it whatever. The 
receipts for payments made, have been all examined; and are 
subject to the inspection of any respectable man who has the 
curiosity to examine them. The amount expended has been as 
stated by the Scientific Council in the "Defence/' $928.24, of 
which six hundred dollars were received from the Trustees and 
paid out by me, duplicate receipts being taken in due form. I 
affirm that every economy was used in the determination; that 
the observations were thoroughly, carefully and laboriously 
made by the same thoroughly trained, skilful and conscientious 
persons who make the other telegraphic longitude observations 
of the Coast Survey ; and that two important points within the 
limits of the State are now satisfactorily connected with the 
meridian of Washington. 

But we have not yet arrived at the end of the side issues 
strung upon the "peculation" matter, for next comes an 
attempt to embroil not only Prof. Peirce and myself, but also 
Prof. Bache with Prof. Mitchel, with whom he has been and is, 
in official as well as friendly relations. There is not space here 
to go into this ; but in passing I would observe that the appa- 
ratus devised and used by the gentlemen in the employment of 
the Coast Survey for the determination of longitudes, has a 
different object and aim, and is in itself entirely different from 
that commended by Professors Peirce and Bache before the 
American Association. What hardihood must it not require to 
induce men to undertake to turn the generosity and candid 
speaking of these scientific men as a weapon against them- 
selves. Is not the fact that Professors Peirce and Bache took 
such an opportunity to praise Professor Mitchel's invention, a 
proof that they are not likely to slight his claim? Their 

* " Defence of Dr. Gould by the Scientific Council," page 70. 



125 

remarks have never in any shape been withdrawn or modified, 
so far as I am aware. 

It may be said the Accusers probably did not know the differ- 
ence between the apparatus of Prof. Mitchel, and that employed 
by the Coast Survey for determining longitudes. My answer 
is, that they were bound to know their facts before bringing 
charges ; and that this was a topic wholly foreign to the 
Observatory controversy, and could only have been brought 
into it from a spirit of demoniac vindictiveness. 

7. The Meridian-Circle. 

When I removed to Albany the large piers which support the 
meridian circle, were already in position ; but nothing had been 
done towards cutting the channels for the axis, the microscopes 
and the illumination tubes; and the piers had not yet been cut 
down to the exact height required. Before the instrument could 
be so mounted as to be usable, it was requisite to cut all the 
channels, and with a precision of which those unacquainted with 
delicate astronomical instruments can have no conception. 

On the 6th of March, the eleven boxes containing the instru- 
ment were opened and thoroughly examined. All the parts, 
excepting the great tube, were taken out, and the fixed portions 
carefully measured to furnish the basis for the necessary draw- 
ings ; and a check against any possible accidental error in the 
dimensions as given by the makers. The preparations for 
stone-cutters' work were then begun. 

Two cylindrical canals, 6 inches in diameter, and eight simi- 
lar ones, 2.6 inches in diameter, were to be drilled horizontally 
through piers of hard stone two feet thick, and without 
allowing the drills to swerve at all from the prescribed direc- 
tion. A large piece of peculiar shape was to be cut out 
from the side of one of the piers; and a precisely similar piece 
made to fit the cavity. Numerous other places were to be 
carefully chiseled or drilled away, for admittance and adapta- 
tion of the different parts of the instrument. 

Much care and time w^ere necessarily devoted to the prepara- 
tions. Every line was of course drawn beforehand on the 
stones, and full-sized corresponding plans prepared for the 



126 

guidance of the stone-cutters. These preparations occupied 
between two and three weeks, and went on quietly and evenly, 
despite the constant taunts from certain members of the 
majority of the Board, both through the public press and 
through the many avenues of public rumor, industriously 
supplied with new material by the activity of my former 
assistant Dr. Peters, and of Dr. Armsby. Of all this I took 
no notice, intending that the work should be done with the 
deliberate care necessary for insuring the accuracy demanded. 
It will be remembered that the regular official work of the 
Coast Survey went on meanwhile, and that only the leisure 
hours were available for Observatory work. 

The plans being laid down on paper, and also drawn upon 
the stones themselves, the stone-cutters were put at work. 
And to the skill and professional pride of the worthy mechanics, 
Messrs. Brooksby and Rowland, I desire to express my great 
indebtedness. They accomplished a most difficult and tedious 
undertaking, to my entire satisfaction. For seven weeks 
the work of drilling, cutting and chiseling, went on; the 
nature of the case preventing rough and rapid execution, as 
well as the employment of many men at once. The time was 
also much protracted by the difficulty of obtaining proper 
tools, those furnished from the first work-shop breaking almost 
as fast as they were tried. By the adoption of another 
form, and the employment of chilled cast-iron drills instead 
of steel, the work was successfully accomplished, — the devia- 
tion of the axial line from absolute horizontality, and from 
absolute perpendicularity to the meridian, amounting in no 
one of the ten canals to so much as the eighth of an inch, and 
averaging less than a tenth. The accuracy of the cavities for 
the axis of the instrument was truly marvelous, and only 
explicable by attributing a part of it to good fortune. For 
when the tubes which carry the Y-bed were slid into these 
cavities, without cement of any kind, the adjusting screws 
being first placed in their mean position, and the position of 
the Ys then determined by observations made with a small 
telescope adjusted perpendicularly to a wooden provisional 



127 

axis, the error of the line joining the centers of the Ys proved 
to be only 2s.7 in azimuth and 21s. in level. A change of less 
than seven hundredths of an inch in the position of the two axis- 
canals would have made their centers absolutely in an east 
and west line, and truly horizontal! 

The work of stone-cutting was completed about the 10th of 
June, upon the main piers, and about the 16th upon the colli- 
mator piers. 

Meanwhile the preliminary work for casing and clothing the 
four piers had been going on. The clothing had been woven 
in New York, and the wooden casing made in Albany, ready 
for fitting the piers. 

While the upholsterers and carpenters were fitting the cloth- 
ing and casing, the work of setting the hubs, &c, commenced. 
With the assistance of Mr. Spencer this was speedily accom- 
plished, both on the Circle and the Collimator piers. This work, 
and that upon the subsidiary apparatus, were in great measure 
completed during the next fortnight, and finally, on the 25th 
day of June, one day previous to the tremendous anathema of 
Mr. Olcott, (unknown to, and unsuspected by, me until the 29th,) 
I had the satisfaction of seeing the instrument in position, 
complete so far as the transit-element was concerned, and of 
making the first preliminary observations. As a matter of pre- 
caution, the circles were not placed upon the axis, since the 
means for their adjustment was not at hand. But on the 30th 
of June the circles were temporarily placed in position, and 
the whole complete instrument placed upon the Y-beds, in pre- 
sence of the Scientific Council. 

On the 26th day of June, — while the instrument as above 
stated was already in place, and after observations had been 
made with it, — Mr. Olcott said, in his Manifesto, deliberately 
adopted by the Majority as their own statement to the public, 
published in the newspapers, and since then in pamphlet form : 

"The magnificent Meridian Circle has been on hand since October last, 
and nothing has been done towards mounting it, except drilling a few holes 
in the piers, until within the last week." 

It is difficult to understand in what Mr. Olcott supposed the 



128 

" mounting " of a Meridian Circle to consist. He was in error 
in saying that it had been on hand since October, 1857, inas- 
much as it did not arrive until November 10; but this is a 
trivial mistake. The understanding, until the compact of 
December, 1857, had been, that it should not be put up till 
resources were at hand for providing support for an observer 
and the means of reducing the observations. 

For some time subsequent to the first fierce attack of the Accu- 
sers, the condition of affairs at the Observatory precluded any 
active work by myself, personally, with the instrument. The 
Council, being present, engaged in an immediate and detailed 
investigation of the charges of Mr. Olcott and the majority, and 
in the publication of the results of their inquiry. Meantime 
they were themselves expelled by the Board from their office 
as Scientific Council, so far as a resolution of the Board could 
do this; and the unhappy state of things was brought about, 
with which the public is familiar. My official labors went on, 
and such Observatory work went on also, through all this, as 
was practicable. Although I was unable to do much towards 
observing, yet the time was improved to complete the nice work 
of fitting the casing, coating it with shellac, painting and var- 
nishing, putting on the gas pipes, adjusting the collimators, &c. 

The steps, for access to the different parts of the instrument, 
for reading the microscopes, the nadir-point, &c, &c, were 
made, not on the plan I had intended, but on another, more 
consonant with my limited means, and which I trust will be 
adjudged not only neat but appropriate ; mercury-boxes were 
constructed, to obviate the tremors arising from the close vicin- 
age of the railroad, and the numerous little accessories put in 
complete order. The position of the circles was adjusted, as 
also was the weight of the counterpoises and the direction of 
the microscopes. 

Within a few weeks the work of observation has been com- 
menced, the instrument brought into nice adjustment, and the 
determination of the several instrumental corrections under- 
taken. I am now* engaged in observations preliminary to the 

* This was written in December. 



129 

formation of a catalogue to contain the position of every star 
visible to the naked eye, between the limits of 40° and 95° of 
North Polar Distance, these limits including all stars likely to 
be needed for latitude observations in any part of the United 
States, Europe or Asia, for which the Radcliffe Catalogue has 
not already provided the necessary star-places. 

It was far from my purpose and wishes to make the idea of 
this Meridian Circle the basis of any claim for applause. Should 
opportunity permit, it is my hope to publish a full description 
of it at some not far distant period. My colleagues of the 
Scientific Council saw fit to express their approbation and 
approval of its peculiarities, in language with which I could 
not but feel especially gratified, as being an unqualified enco- 
mium from three out of the limited number of men in the 
country, who were competent to pronounce an opinion. Hav- 
ing allowed the commendation to pass without any disclaimer, 
it now becomes my duty, however distasteful, to prove that 
their strong approval was not an idle exaggeration, and a token 
of ignorance or of partiality on their part; as also that I did not 
appropriate to myself merit which was not my due. I will, 
therefore, give a condensed statement of some of the chief 
points in which this instrument differs from all others, and by 
which I trust that, with the aid of the accomplished and experi- 
enced mechanicians, Messrs. Pistor and Martins, it may have 
been my privilege to contribute something towards the improve- 
ment of astronomical appliances. 

It was my endeavor to convey to these eminent artists clear 
ideas of the character of the improvements which I had desired, 
leaving them free at the same time to decide upon the mechan- 
ical details by which these ideas were to be practically realized ; 
and, in addition to these peculiarities of structure, I desired 
that they should also introduce all additional refinements which 
their experience might suggest, provided these should, on exami- 
nation, be found compatible with the fundamental ideas which 
I intended to incorporate. 

On the 27th of August, 1856, the day preceding the formal 
inauguration of the Observatory, I presented to the American 



130 

Association, then in session at Albany, some account of the 
principles which had guided me in giving the directions for 
this instrument, and described the prominent characteristics 
of its construction. This communication is printed in the 
proceedings of the Albany Meeting, p. 113, from which I will 
extract, at some length, — with one or two slight modifications : 

" The meridian instruments now in use in the several observatories of the 
world, may be classified in two divisions, — which may be designated as the 
English and the German styles ; and perhaps be justly described, the one 
as the instrument of the engineer, the other as that of the artist. For the 
former the circles are large and massive, frequently having a diameter 
equal to the entire focal length of the attached telescope ; in the latter they 
are smaller and slighter. 

" The new transit- circle of Professor Airy, at Greenwich, typifies the 
English style ; and this instrument, with its counterpart at the Cape of Good 
Hope, presents the merits in the most conspicuous and impressive form. It 
is of iron, cast in a single piece ; incapable of reversal, — for which the 
observation of collimators is substituted; without a striding or hanging 
level, — this apparatus being superseded by observations of the meridian 
thread as reflected from the surface of mercury ; the circles are six feet in 
diameter, and placed close to the tube ; one only is graduated, being read by 
six diverging microscopes firmly imbedded in a massive compound pier ; and 
the pivot-forms are investigated by means of a collimating apparatus, of 
which the axis of rotation itself forms a part. 

" The instruments of the German school are of an entirely different 
order, — lighter and more mobile, and are made to rest upon comparatively 
small and slight piers, designed merely for bearing the weight of the 
instrument. Their circles are small in comparison with the length of the 
tube, and placed near the extremities of the axis ; the microscopes are 
supported upon a frame concentric with the axis, and form one system, — 
the position of which is known by means of an attached level, whose indi- 
cations furnish a correction to be applied to the mean of their several 
readings. The level is used, indeed, whenever its use is possible, and a 
great part of the precision of the results of observation is dependent upon 
the delicacy with which this highly trusted instrument may be constructed 
and used. Frequent reversals of the instrument are deemed indispensable ; 
and in general the structure is devised with a view to easy, rapid and 
frequent changes in the relative position of all those parts which may be 
rendered movable. 

" To sum up, — the one class of instruments is designed for securing 
absolute uniformity of circumstances in all observations ; the other, for 
attaining as great diversity of circumstance as is consistent with the reten- 
tion of the same degree of accuracy. 

"The meridian-circle for the Dudley Observatory has been ordered of 
Messrs. Pistor and Martins, of Berlin ; and in its form and the fundamental 
principles adopted, my aim has been to avoid the prejudices of education 
and the prepossessions of taste, and if possible to exercise an eclectic 
judgement, — using however the greatest care to shun such a composite form 
as would impair the unity of idea, and fail of the preponderant merit which 
both the English and the German forms may claim, in being consistent 



131 

developments of their fundamental idea. All this seemed not impossible ; 
nor indeed did it seem beyond attainment to combine with such an eclectic 
form sundry new, and by no means unimportant, additions. This has been 
the endeavor, and it remains to be seen how sound may have been the 
foundation for these hopes and expectations. 

"The object-glass is from material furnished by Messrs. Chance 
Brothers, of Birmingham, and made under the supervision of Mr. Masselin. 
It was my earnest desire that it might be ground and worked into form 
by some one of our own accomplished artists, but the Berlin mechanicians 
were unwilling to entertain any proposition of the kind, — desiring to take 
the whole responsibility, if any — and were so strenuous that I refrained from 
pressing the matter. The clear aperture is ninety French lines ; the focal 
length, ten English feet. 

" Both circles are divided, and capable of rotation round the axis, and 
they are read by means of four microscopes firmly set in each pier, — 
horizontal, not converging, although the divided silver limb is slightly 
oblique to prevent the dazzling image of the lamp from blinding the 
observer's eye. The pier3 being two feet in thickness, and the microscopes 
read from the outer side, these microscopes are not far from twenty-five 
inches in length,* — a circumstance which gives rise to various not unim- 
portant disadvantages ; but the ingenuity and skill of Mr. Martins have 
surmounted the chief of these, the large amount of expansion and contrac- 
tion of the metal due to changes of temperature, with great success, by 
leaving the metal tubes free to extend or recede without hindrance, and 
without affecting either the distance of the lenses or their fixity in the stone. 

" To obviate the chief disadvantages of attaching the microscopes to the 
piers, namely, those arising from the unequal changes in the piers them- 
selves, these will be coated with oil, or some other preparation for exclud- 
ing moisture, wound around with list or baize, and then encased in wood. 
With these precautions, I am very confident that we are justified in await- 
ing from this more massive construction greater advantages than would be 
derived from the metallic connection of the microscopes, although con- 
tinually subjected to scrutiny by means of the attached ether-level. 

" The circles are three feet in diameter, and entirely protected on the 
outer side by the piers. They are of the form which long experience has 
recommended to Messrs. Pistor and Martins as the best, — not too heavy 
at the rim, and with radial arms thickening in both dimensions towards the 
center 

" The eye-piece has a vertical as well as a horizontal motion ; and the 
diaphragm, which is of course adapted for chronographic observation, is 
provided with both a horizontal and a vertical micrometer, — the former 
being especially intended for the observation of polar stars. 

" The method of Hansen for measuring and eliminating the effect of 
flexure comes from an authority too high, and commends itself too strongly, 
to justify us in lightly setting it aside. But advantages entirely incom- 
patible with its employment presented themselves in such number as to 
induce me to accede to the earnest recommendation of the artist, and 
abandon the original plan of interchangeable eye-piece and object-glass. 

. The interchange of object-glass and eye-pieces presupposes either 
the absence of unsymmetrical parts within the tube, such as the apparatus 
for illumination and the shafts by which we regulate the amount of light 
admitted, or the disconnection of these from their gearing or screw-heads. 

* It was subsequently decided to shorten these to about two feet. 



132 

Indeed, nothing like the former can be reasonably demanded, — a sacrifice 
which seems disproportionate to the end to be attained. Moreover, the 
new meridian- circle is equipped with more than a usual amount of internal 
mechanism, although the arrangement and support of this latter has been 
planned with an especial view to avoidance of any prejudicial effect arising 
from unsymmetric distribution of weight. The measurement of flexure 
may take place without disturbing the adjustments or parts of the instru- 
ment, by some apparatus analogous to the neat and practical contrivance 
of Professor Challis, who arranges a pair of collimators in such a manner 
that they are used in connection with each other at any desired angle of 
altitude. Moreover, the reversal of the instrument admits of a scrutiny 
and check upon the determinations, which provides all needful safeguard 
against erroneous results. 

" The circles are to be divided to 2', and read by microscope to one- 
tenth of a second. The unit's place of the degree is always to be visible 
within the field of the microscope, and the decades of degrees engraved upon 
the rim of the circle. The finders read to 10', and by vernier to 1'., 

" The axis is turned within as well as without, a precaution upon which I 
also insisted with regard to the tube. The cube measures thirteen inches 
and a half on each side, and the pivots are two inches in diameter. The 
difficulty of obtaining a satisfactory and suitable homogeneous piece of 
metal for the axis, may be estimated from the circumstance, that, even in 
Berlin, justly renowned as is that city for knowledge and skill in every- 
thing pertaining to the founding of metals, three successive castings had to 
be rejected before a satisfactory piece could be obtained ; and even then 
it became necessary to deviate from the original plan, — not, however, as I 
trust, to the disadvantage of the instrument. The weight of the axis is 
about 350 pounds. 

" The illumination will be entirely by gas, — the light designed for the 
illumination of the field entering by one pivot, and that for the threads by 
the other. Arrangements are made for illuminating with lights of different 
colors, and for observing, when occasion requires, with bright threads upon 
a bright field.* The levels are boxed, provided with air-chambers, and 
read from end to end, not from the middle outwards. 

" In fine, it has been my endeavor to incorporate in the design of this 
instrument, the principle, — never before attained, so far as I am aware, — 
that every instrumental correction, without exception, should be capable of 
determination by two entirely distinct and independent methods ; and in 
this respect also to combine the advantages of the German and the English 
forms. And I may claim for the new instrument that its errors of gradua- 
tion, its errors of flexure, collimation, level, azimuth and nadir-point, may 
all be determined by two separate processes, free from any dependence, 
direct or indirect, upen each other. And whatever may be its errors of 
construction or of mounting — errors must exist in every work of human 
hands — there is no fear that they will escape detection and accurate 
measurement. So earnest has been my desire to lose none of the advantages 
on either side of questions upon which experienced astronomers differ in 
opinion, that no point of detail has been deemed too minute for the application 
of this idea of duality, and I have even requested the artists to provide one set 
of microscopes with crosses, after the fashion of Troughton, and the other 
with close parallel threads, according to the custom of Repsold and the 
almost universal usage of the German mechanicians. 

* This arrangement was subsequently modified. 



133 

" If this eclectic spirit shall prove to have been successful in attaining 
its ends without the sacrifice of unity, of artistic or theoretic elegance, of 
convenience, or of any scientific advantage, the care and labor bestowed 
upon the decision of the principles which should rule its design will be more 
than rewarded. But here, as in all instruments of a high order, it is the 
mechanical artist to whom most of the success is due, and whose refined 
delicacy of judgement, taste, and skill we must thank for the chief advances 
of modern astronomy. Bessel once said that he could determine the place 
of a star with a musket-barrel and a cart-wheel. Few things were impossible 
to Bessel, but you will agree with me that at any rate even he, with such 
appliances, would hardly have determined so large a number of precise 
star-positions as, thanks to the genius of Fraunhofer, Reichenbaeh and Rep- 
sold, are contained in those noble Konigsberg volumes, and suffice to render 
the names of the artist and the astronomer alike immortal." 

Strange as it may seem, to those who have read the letter of 

Dr. Briinnow to Mr. Olcott, on pp. 155, 156, of the " Statement,'' 

this same Dr. Briinnow was sitting close by me while I made 

this communication, and, at its close, expressed in cordial 

language his congratulations and compliments. And now, with 

a neat ambiguity of language, he says : 

" But, with this exception, that the level of the Olcott Circle hangs 
on the same part of the pivots, which rests on the Y pieces, I have not 
found anything in the construction of the instrument which has not been 
applied before in the construction of the Ann Arbor and of the Green- 
wich Circle" 

In the expression, "applied before in the construction of the 
Ann Arbor and of the Greenwich Circle, 11 the writer has used 
ambiguous terms, which divert attention from the fact that 
these two instruments are entirely dissimilar, — while he may 
also screen himself from the charge of that very error, which 
his language is adapted to convey to the uninformed reader. 
Every consideration of charity compels me to assume that he 
intended to say "the Ann Arbor or the Greenwich Circle; " and 
that the use of the word and is due to his want of entire famil- 
iarity with English idiom. By this assumption alone, is it pos- 
sible that his statement can be defended against the charge of 
intentional misrepresentation. His letters, as they stand, place 
him in the attitude of giving aid to a cabal against one who 
had been his constant, unwavering and devoted friend, and of 
being willing to injure him by undermining at once his reputa- 
tion for honor, and whatever credit astronomers might be dis- 
posed to award him for success in a laborious effort to plan an 



134 

instrument, not unworthy of the new Observatory, or of the 
present state of instrumental astronomy. 

Were there no feature of this Meridian-circle, which does not 
enter into the construction either of the Greenwich Transit 
Circle or of the Ann Arbor Meridian Circle, still the successful 
combination in one instrument of many of the prominent advan- 
tages of two others, — so different in their nature and appear- 
ance that no one unacquainted with astronomy, would suspect 
them of being intended for the same purpose, and which, 
although intended to attain the same end, aim at its attainment 
by entirely different means, — would constitute a full title to be 
regarded as a new form of construction. Even in this view, 
the language which Dr. Briinnow employs, would convey an 
untruthful and injurious impression. But there are other fea- 
tures in this instrument, and I will now specify some of the 
peculiarities of this Circle which exist neither in the Greenwich 
nor in the Ann Arbor Circle, in addition to the leading and 
characteristic peculiarity of the Albany instrument, namely : 
that every error and correction is capable of direct investiga- 
tion by two different and independent processes, thus affording 
the observer the means of a thorough check and control upon 
the results of every investigation. 

(A.) The Microscopes. — These^are connected by the substance 
of the piers, in which each is fastened by solid cement, and 
which are monoliths, perforated as little as possible. 

Although the tubes are metallic, their expansion and con- 
traction are so compensated as not to affect the value of the 
micrometer divisions. 

(B.) The Circles. — The plane of the graduated silver limb 
is not perpendicular to the axis of the microscopes, and the 
division-readings are thereby relieved of the glare of an illu- 
minating beam, reflected directly back to the eye. 

There is no setting pointer, but some graduated number 
or means of identifying the reading is always in the field of 
every microscope, — the decades of degrees being, however, 
marked upon the rims for convenience. 



135 

(C.) The Illumination. — The illumination of the field, the 
threads, and the limb for all the microscopes for each circle, as 
well as of the clock, takes place by means of only two gas-lights, 
at a distance of three feet from the piers and five feet from the 
circles; all radiant heat having been meantime cut off. 

Before reaching the graduated limb the beams of light 
traverse nearly seven feet, undergoing two reflections, and 
being essentially divested of the accompanying heat, — the requi- 
site amount and intensity of light being attained by means of 
parabolic reflectors. The beams will be made to traverse a 
screen of alum water, if any effect of radiant heat is detected. 

The threads are illuminated upon a dark field by four prisms 
90° apart, thus illuminating both sides of the horizontal and 
the vertical threads symmetrically. 

Both field and threads may be illuminated with colored or 
with white light. 

(D.) The Telescope and Axis. — The object and eye ends of 
the telescope tube are of equal length, and their moments of 
inertia equal. 

The two pivots are precisely similar, and the interior of the 
axis turned to equal thicknesses at the two ends. 

The level-arms bear upon the same part of the pivots which 
rests upon the Ys. 

(E.) Piers, &c. — The piers are single stones, covering the 
circles entirely, and in close proximity to them. 

They are closely clothed and cased, to protect against the 
influence of sudden meteorological changes. The same precau- 
tions have been taken with the collimator piers. 

(F.) Subsidiary Apparatus. — The arms of the reversing car- 
riage are much more widely separated than in previous instru- 
ments, the counterpoises are otherwise adjusted, and the 
arrangements of the rails entirely different. 

A turn-table allows the carriage to be rolled and placed out 
of the way. 

A second and independent apparatus is arranged for testing 
the graduation absolutely, and this without rotating the circles. 



136 

The access to the eye pieces, for nadir observation, is quick, 
and without use of cumbrous staging. 

The arrangements for reading the nadir are entirely and 
totally different, as is the construction of the collimating eye 
pieces. 

The levels are differently arranged. 

So much, at least, I may say without detracting in the least 
from the merits of the doubtless admirable circle, constructed 
by the same makers for ^the Ann Arbor Observatory. The 
comparison of different instruments, each excellent, is most 
desirable when scientific ends are to be attained by the exami- 
nation; but, as a mere matter of boast, for one side or the 
other, it is essentially vulgar. The ill-judged vauntings of Dr. 
Armsby, at the time of the inauguration, over the superiority 
of dimensions of the Albany instrument, — vauntings which, as 
both he and Mr. Olcott well knew, I exerted myself to the 
utmost to suppress, seem to have had no inconsiderable share 
in bringing about, although indirectly, this very unwarranted 
and most exceptionable manifestation on the part of Dr. Brun- 
now. I will hope that the inaccuracy of his statement was the 
result of a want of information alone. 

The observations with this instrument, — in addition to the 
labor of making them, and that of preparing for them, — neces- 
sarily entail an extended and laborious reduction; a work of 
which the extent is unsuspected by those not familiar with 
practical astronomy. I can give no better idea of it than by 
quoting the language of Mr. Johnson, the celebrated Director 
of the Radcliffe Observatory. In a report to the Trustees of 
his Observatory, — a corps of gentlemen affording a strange 
contrast to the majority of those of the Dudley Observatory, in 
that they seem to consider their connection with the institu- 
tion as intended to advance of the interests of the Observatory 
rather than their own, — he speaks as follows : 

"The kindly notices of approval, which from time to time have reached 
me, are my only encouragements to persevere in a routine, where the 
pleasure is alloyed with an amount of drudgery and monotony, of which 
no one who has not experienced it can have an idea. 

" It may surprise you, perhaps, to hear so grave a description of an 
astronomer's duties ; for it is not an uncommon impression that they con- 



137 

sist in sitting under a telescope, and making certain notes of what he sees. 
This, though doubtless a very necessary, forms but a very small portion 
of them. 

"Very few observations, indeed, as they come from the telescope, are 
applicable to any useful purpose. To fit them for theoretical investiga- 
tions, to render the observations made .at one place comparable with those 
made at another, or even those made at the same place at different times ; 
to fit them, I say, for these purposes, every observation must be cleared of 
two distinct classes of errors ; one, depending on the positions of the 
instruments, always liable to minute changes ; the other, resulting from 
actual or apparent changes in the heavens. 

" The correction of these errors involve eight or nine distinct arithmeti- 
cal processes of from ten to twenty figures each, a great part of which is 
performed in duplicate, besides a number of preliminary determinations, 
which are required before we can enter upon the calculations, so that the 
last two or three figures on the right of every line of our printed diary, 
are in fact the representatives of between two and three hundred. This 
operation (termed Reduction) has to be performed for every single observa- 
tion ; and the annual aggregate is generally between four and five thousand. 

"A very eminent authority, (the present Astronomer Royal,) a few years 
ago estimated the time required for the complete reduction of an observa- 
tion at not less than half an hour ; whereas the observation itself is gene- 
rally made in about five minutes. And you may conceive that the 
irksomeuess of all this is not diminished by the fact that when once the 
preliminary mathematical discussion has been concluded, and the work set 
in order, — the calculations are so simple that they may be performed by a 
moderately educated school-boy, yet requiring at every step a degree of 
caution which would task the accuracy of an accountant. 

8. The Tabulating Engine. 

In the year 1822, Charles Babbage perfected in his mind 
the idea of a machine for calculating and printing tables 
by means of differences. In 1823, he undertook the con- 
struction of such a machine for the British Government. 
For about ten years the work went on under Mr. Babbage 's 
supervision, about XI 7,000 being expended in payment of 
workmen, for the manufacture of tools, &c. Early in 1833, 
the construction of this engine was suspended and never 
resumed ; and the uncompleted machine was placed in Som- 
erset House, London, where it still remains. A year later, 
Mr. Babbage devised a new principle, applicable to compli- 
cated arithmetical operations of a much higher order ; and since 
that period he has been employed upon the plans of the new 
and much more powerful machine, known as the Analytical 
Engine. No part of it has to my knowledge been as yet 
actually constructed. 
10 



138 

The essential and paramount advantages of tables thus 
computed and stereotyped by machinery would be : 1st, the 
superior accuracy of the calculated * results, inasmuch as any 
error occurring would be perpetuated and increased until it 
forced itself into notice ; and the correctness of any one 
quantity would thus be a guaranty for that of all preceding- 
ones ; 2d, the entire absence of all typographical errors; 3d, 
the confinement of mental effort to its especial and appropriate 
functions, thus enabling one intellect to bring about results 
which would be far beyond its capacity if mechanical compu- 
tation were allowed to exhaust mental energy. 

Rapidity of operation and convenience in sundry minor 
points are advantages of a very subordinate character; 
although in no way incompatible with those already named. 

In the Edinburgh Review, for July, 1834, was published an 
elaborate article upon the Difference Engine of Mr. Babbage. 
This article met the eye of Mr. George Scheutz, of Stockholm ; 
and suggested to him the idea of constructing a machine for 
the same purpose. But since only the operations and results 
of the machine were described, and not its structure, Mr. 
Scheutz was thrown quite on his own resources. He invented 
various parts of an apparatus to fulfil the same purposes, and 
constructed models of these parts in wood, pasteboard and 
wire. In 1837, his son, Mr. Edward Scheutz, then a student 
in the Swedish Polytechnic school, undertook the construction 
of a working model in metal, and during the summer vacation 
made sufficient progress to prove the practicability of the 
scheme. In October, the elder Scheutz applied to the govern- 
ment for aid, to which a negative answer was returned in 
February following. The two continued to labor with head 
and hand at the model, and at last completed enough of the 
calculating portion to prove its feasibility, and to calculate 
series with one difference to five figures. By April, 1842, the 
model was extended so as to calculate similar series with three 
orders of differences. In another year the printing apparatus 
was devised and attached to the model ; and at last, in Septem- 
ber, 1843, the model was exhibited to the Swedish Academy of 



139 

Sciences, and a certificate obtained from the Academy as to its 
performance. 

With this certificate the inventors sought in various countries 
to obtain an order for constructing the entire machine, but in 
vain. The model remained shut up in its case for seven years. 
In January, 1851, the elder Scheutz appealed anew to the 
Swedish Government for assistance, to enable him to construct 
the machine upon an extended plan. The request was referred 
to the Academy, which reported in favor of compliance, but 
the government subsequently decided in the negative. 

The Diet of 1851 voted that a national recompense of 
5000 rixdollars be awarded the inventors, on condition that 
the King should find, upon examination, that the machine 
performed what was claimed for it. But the inventors, having 
no means to construct the engine, succeeded in obtaining the 
reward in advance, by procuring a guaranty for repayment in 
case of failure. This guaranty was afforded by the liberality 
and public spirit of fifteen members of the Academy of Sciences 
who pledged themselves to refund the amount if the machine 
should not be completed by the end of 1853 and found to 
answer the desired ends. Before the close of October, 1853, 
the machine was completed. The satisfaction of the King and 
of the Academy was so great that an additional reward of the 
same amount as before was voted to the inventors, of which 
they received notice in August, 1854. 

Before the close of that year, it was taken to London, where 
it attracted the admiration of some of the most eminent 
scientists ; and during the following summer was exhibited in 
the great Industrial Exposition at Paris. 

Mr. Babbage had meanwhile interested himself greatly in 
behalf of the new engine and of its inventors. From the begin- 
ning he adopted it as a foster-child of his own, and with word 
and deed aided the Messrs. Scheutz in their endeavor to bring 
it to public notice. He remained for a long time in Paris, to 
explain it to scientific men ; he brought it to the attention of 
the Institute of France, as well as of "the Royal Society of 
London ; and published several pamphlets concerning it. 



140 

The problem of computing and printing by machinery had 
long interested me. In 1845, Mr. Babbage had explained to 
me the construction of the unfinished Difference Engine ; and 
many hours had been passed in discussing with him the pro- 
bable future applications of the principle. The same had been 
the case in 1851 ; and when I met him in Paris, in 1855, on my 
expedition in behalf of the Heliometer and Meridian-circle, it 
was with no small delight, that I heard of and saw the calcula- 
ting engine of the Messrs. Scheutz ; and I resolved anew, as 
often before, that, should it ever be within my power to con- 
tribute to the introduction of the system into actual use, no 
efforts should be wanting. 

After my return home, I described the apparatus to Messrs. 
Armsby and Olcott, and stated my conviction of its future use- 
fulness. But I did not ask for its purchase. Not that I 
hesitated at the responsibility, for I would gladly have taken it, 
but I acted in the consistent pursuance of the one principle 
which had guided me from the beginning, — not to interfere in 
financial matters, or to add to the immense responsibilities 
which the preparation and adoption of the plans for the Obser- 
vatory and the necessary instruments entailed upon me. I lost 
however, no opportunity of enlisting the interest of Dr. Armsby, 
by giving him descriptions and showing him drawings of the 
machine, in the hope that he and Mr. Olcott might, relying on 
my judgement, see their way clear financially to propose the 
purchase of the engine. They did so, and the machine was 
bought with the donation of Mr. John F. Rathbone. It will be 
borne in mind that funds were at this time fast flowing into 
the treasury, and that the purchase of this engine apparently 
implied no sacrifice of any important object. 

As already avowed, the recommendation of the instrument 
came from me. I hoped for the purchase, and rejoiced at it. 
Were it to be destroyed to-morrow, it would have accomplished 
a work; and in my judgement, have inaugurated an epoch. It 
has proved the feasibility of practically supplying the place of 
the toiling brain by mere muscular force, in all that part of com- 
putation which is not intrinsically the work of thought. And 



141 

to the Dudley Observatory, and to the United States, belongs a 
part of the honor. Yet in their desire to injure me, and make 
me appear a participant in the profuse expenditures of the past 
two years, the majority of the Trustees assert that I "urged 
the purchase ; " " proposed that Mr. Rathbone's previously sub- 
scribed $5000, should be appropriated to this purchase," — allude 
to it as " an expenditure so obviously injudicious ; " sneer at it 
in a variety of ways; speak of its results as "a column of 
printed figures;" and falsely assert that they "were charged 
two hundred dollars for bringing it into use." They have 
never paid one dollar for this purpose — though twice two 
hundred dollars would have been well bestowed. They voted 
an appropriation, but not one-tenth of it was expended by 
me ; and none of it was paid by them. These detailed state- 
ments will be refuted also in detail, in the subsequent part of 
this Reply, § 34. 

Among the earliest steps after taking charge of the Obser- 
vatory were the studying out of this engine and its preparation 
for practical work. No description of it has to my knowledge 
ever been published ; and none accompanied it to this country. 
The only explanation afforded consisted in a single sheet of 
lithographic outline-drawings of the several parts, and a let- 
ter of Dr. Edward Scheutz, giving instructions for changing 
its adaptation from the decimal to the sexagesimal system and 
the reverse, with the simple rules for setting it. 

The dirt, which had accumulated on the passage, and thick- 
ened oil, impeded its action greatly, and after engaging the 
services (not at Observatory or Coast Survey expense how- 
ever,) of a mechanical assistant, I went with him through the 
whole machine, until we had rendered ourselves familiar with 
all its parts, supplying such little improvements as native skill 
or suggestions might prompt ; and after an extended series of 
experiments, to determine various points important in a prac- 
tical and economical point of view, put the machine in action. 
The strictly algebraical problems for feeding the machine made 
quite as heavy demands upon time, and thought, and persever- 
ance, as did the problem of regulating its mechanical action; 



142 

but all was soon in operation, and by the aid of my zealous 
and enthusiastic assistants, Messrs. Bachelder and Searle, 
the True Anomaly of Mars was computed and stereotyped 
for intervals of a tenth of a day throughout the cycle; and 
a sufficient number of the plates electrotyped, to enable me 
to be confident that all difficulties were surmounted. Since 
that time the Eccentric Anomaly of Mars, and the logarithm 
of its Radius-vector have been computed and stereotyped by 
the machine in like manner, for the same interval, making a 
series of tables upon which the reputation of the engine may 
well be rested. 

9. The Transit-Instrument. 

The full explanations relative to this instrument, which 
were given by the Scientific Council in the "Defence," seemed 
at the time to render all attempts at farther mystification or 
misrepresentation on the part of Mr. Olcott and his co-workers 
futile and hopeless. But in pursuance of their established and 
consistently followed policy of maintaining falsehood by the 
potent force of mere repetition, and of trusting to the enormity 
and unblushing assurance of their misstatements as a sufficient 
protection against disproof, the very simple matter of the 
Transit instrument has been again made to furnish the material 
for a part of this Second Attack. 

Prof. Bache, in his capacity of Superintendent of the U. S. 
Coast Survey, promised in 1855, both orally and in a letter to 
Mr. Olcott, that if the Dudley Observatory would provide a 
Heliometer with which measurements of the Pleiades might 
be made, adapted to the needs of the longitude computers in 
the Coast Survey, he would furnish an observer, and would in 
addition provide a transit for time "from among the Coast Survey 
instruments." Although the Heliometer is not yet ready, and 
the fulfilment of this promise, therefore, not yet required, yet one 
of the very best Coast Survey transit instruments then on hand 
was provided by the Superintendent during the year 1856, and 
has since that time remained at the Observatory, with the 
exception of a short time during which it was undergoing some 
mechanical modifications at the workshop in Washington City, 



143 

to adapt it for more convenient use in the telegraphic longi- 
tude-measurements. In addition to this, Prof. Bache empow- 
ered me on my last visit to Europe to order a Transit 
instrument of much larger dimensions than any previously- 
belonging to the Coast Survey. His intention was to have 
this instrument, also, set up at the Dudley Observatory, when 
the pledges of Mr. Olcott should have been fulfilled, and the 
attainment of the requisite endowment should thus permit an 
observer to be assigned to the instrument. That period has 
never arrived; no purpose for which the large and expensive 
Transit instrument could be employed at the Observator} r , under 
the circumstances, would be fulfilled by this instrument better 
than by the much smaller and more easily managed one already 
in employment ; the large one is of course proportionally 
cumbrous in use ; it would be greatly exposed to chances of 
injury, not only from meddlesome hands, but from the atmos- 
phere: and the only condition which would in my judgement 
warrant its unpacking and erection, — viz. : that of one obser- 
ver, at least, who could devote his whole time to making and 
computing the observations with it, — did not exist. These are 
some of the considerations which guided me, and I know of no 
argument of weight on the opposite side. It is not credita- 
ble to an astronomer, in my opinion, to have his instruments 
needlessly exposed to injury ; nor for the sake of a vain dis- 
play of glittering brass and lacquered metal, to suffer them to 
lie idle in their bearings. At any rate, it would be in violation 
of my own taste. The Meridian-circle and Calculating engine 
promised to call all the available time of myself and my assis- 
tants into requisition ; and it would have been the height of 
folly for one already so fearfully overburdened to add new 
responsibilities to his load, when uncompensated by any cor- 
responding advantage, or indeed by any other advantage than 
the vulgar satisfaction of tinsel parade and vainglorious 
ostentation. 

It should be added in farther explanation, that a Transit 
instrument forms an essential part of the more complicated 
apparatus known as a " Meridian Circle, n and that the former 



144 

is capable of no use, or mode of observation, to which the other 
is not also applicable. The large Transit, of which we are 
speaking, is moreover much smaller than the Meridian Circle 
of the Observatory; — the object glass of the one having an aper- 
ture of seventy-two lines, with a focal length of eight feet; 
while that of the other has an aperture of ninety lines, and a 
focal length of ten feet. Nothing, therefore, can be done with 
this instrument, which cannot also be done (and better if the 
size of the instrument comes into consideration) by the Meri- 
dian circle. The original structure of the edifice contemplated 
the simultaneous employment of two meridian instruments ; 
and this large Transit-instrument was provided by Professor 
Bache, in expectation that the desired endowment-fund would 
be obtained, and thus allow both instruments to be kept in use. 
To mount, adjust and adequately employ the Circle, was more 
than my means readily permitted. How ill-judged any unpack- 
ing and mounting of the Transit would have been, will be 
readily understood. 

This instrument is, in its internal arrangement, precisely 
similar to the Transit portion of the Meridian Circle. The 
absence of the graduated circles from the axis has, however, 
permitted the attainment of sundry conveniences in the former, 
which were impossible in the latter; among which are especially 
to be mentioned, the arrangement of the counterpoises and the 
power of reversal without removing from between the piers. 

That the Superintendent would have afforded the necessary 
permission to unpack and mount the instrument, had I applied 
for it, is most probable, since he had given the same under 
certain conditions, six months previous ; but I did not now ask 
for such permission. The " Executive Committee," in March 
last, appropriated $150 for mounting it, in reply to my appli- 
cation for $50 for the smaller one, (which application was not 
granted). This vote was evidently intended to form a source 
of annoyance, and was a direct interference with my exclusive 
function under the compact, — that of managing and conducting 
the scientific work of the Observatory. Although official 
authority had been given me in December, 1857, I certainly 



145 

should not have presumed to meddle with the instrument under 
the changed circumstance's, without renewed instructions or 
authority. 

Such is the simple detail of the whole affair. The boxes 
containing the large Transit instrument are still stored at the 
Observatory, having been opened only on their first arrival 
from Germany, to ascertain that the parts were in good condi- 
tion, and to protect the pivots, &c, from injury. 

In face of all these facts, the accusers have the shameless 
effrontery to say, (p. 133:) 

" The 'pledge' of Prof. Bache was to supply a Transit instrument for 
time, at a cost of $1,500, to be mounted and used in the Dudley Observa- 
tory. This instrument was purchased in Europe by Dr. Gould, in redemp- 
tion of this ' pledge.' " 

The small Transit was permanently set up in April. With it, 
and with its twin, which was mounted at the New York station, 
all the longitude observations have been made. It has been in 
use on every clear night since then; it affords the standard 
time to the Observatory with all the precision with which this 
would have been obtained by the employment of the large 
instrument ; and it has been much more available for the longi- 
tude work than the other would have been. Indeed, had the 
large instrument been mounted and adjusted I should still have 
been inclined to employ the small one for the longitude work. 
It is for the removal of both these instruments from the Obser- 
vatory premises that Mr. Olcott has applied to the Secretary of 
the Treasury of the United States. Thus, after groundlessly 
charging Professor Bache with a breach of faith in not furnish- 
ing and mounting the instrument stipulated, he has actually 
endeavored to effect the removal of both. 

10. The Longitude. 
When the Observatory was placed under my charge by the 
compact ratified in Jan. 1858, it was unequipped, unfurnished 
and almost inaccessible. The Trustees had officially promised 
the means necessary for furnishing the indispensable equip- 
ments and for mounting the instruments, and Mr. Olcott, 
whose will had been law since the foundation of the institution. 



146 

had promised Professor Bache and myself, that if we would 
provide for the performance of the work for which the appro- 
priation of $2000 was voted by : the State, (viz: determining 
the meridian of the Observatory,) any surplus remaining after 
the performance of the work should be available for the 
current expenses. This appropriation, Mr. Olcott h.ad before 
assured us, might be applied to paying the salary of an 
assistant for three years, provided this assistant should be 
his nominee ; or might be obtained even by a nominal deter- 
mination of the position. 

When I took possession on the 20th of February, instead of 
two assistants I was accompanied by four, all eager to aid in 
the effort to make the Observatory a means of advancing 
science in America, and of contributing to the honor of the 
American name. All of them had their regular duties to per- 
form in the Coast Survey service, but were filled with, zeal and 
enthusiasm to contribute their share towards the advancement 
and the honor of the Observatory. They have labored with 
success for the rightful attainment of an honorable name. 

The time was not then far distant, (it has now arrived) when 
the longitude of some point in this vicinity would be indis. 
pensably needed by the Coast Survey in connection with the 
triangulation of the Hudson, made by request of the New 
York Harbor Commissioners, under an arrangement with the 
President of the United States. It was also needed by the 
State under the law of 1857. Two separate determinations 
would have involved double expense, while the sharing of 
the expense of a single one between the U. S. Government and 
the State, would be an arrangement mutually advantageous. 
Professor Bache, while he did not feel authorized to subject 
the government to outlay for the purpose of determining the 
longitude before this was needed for official purposes, had no 
hesitation in offering the gratuitous services of the salaried 
members of the longitude party of the survey, both for making 
and computing the observations, as well as the gratuitous use 
of all the apparatus and instruments needed. 

He therefore offered to the Regents of the University and to 
the Trustees of the Observatory such aid as could be afforded 



147 

by the instruments needed for use in these operations, by the 
services of the officers of the longitude party, and by those of 
the computers attached to the same party, — the Observatory 
to pay the outlays required, for mounting the instruments, 
erecting a station, wages of hands, batteries and incidental 
expenses; the whole amounting, according to the estimate made 
by Professor Bache and myself, to about $600. The only pro- 
viso in this offer was that the government should be subjected 
to no farther outlay. 

Thus, — while the salaries of the assistants, the use of the 
instruments and apparatus, the labor of regular computers, &c, 
which constitute the chief sources of expense, their total amount- 
ing in fact to a sum quite equal to the whole amount of the 
legislative appropriation, could be provided by the Survey 
without subjecting the United States government to any addi- 
tional outlay, — the Trustees by paying the comparatively small 
actual outlays requisite, would receive the very much larger 
amount from the State. 

It is proper to remark in this connection, that my duties in 
the Coast Survey consist exclusively in the superintendence of 
these longitude determinations, and that my assistants at the 
Observatory and elsewhere, are engaged in this work; so that 
the whole labor assumed by the Coast Survey would fall as an 
additional burden upon our shoulders; a burden cheerfully 
assumed, and willingly borne, despite the taunts and sneers 
which have been our portion from those in whose behalf we 
toiled. For be it understood that, notwithstanding Mr. Olcott's 
promise, not a dollar of the balance of the longitude appropria- 
ation has come to my hands for the current expenses of the 
Observatory. The outlays were somewhat more than $900, 
instead of $600 as anticipated. But only these $600 have been 
received or asked for; and, while we have been gratuitously 
laboring, not only to earn the balance for the Trustees, but to 
carry on all the work of the institution, the whole of the 
current expenses have been at my own private charge. If the 
whole appropriation has not been received by the Trustees, it 
undoubtedly might have been, with proper efforts. 



148 

The exchanges of telegraphic signals between Albany and 
New York extended over somewhat more than a month, the 
work occupying most of the time of two assistants, two aids 
and two laborers during that period. Subsidiary observations 
have been carried on since that time, and a computer busily 
employed in reducing the observations. 

11. The Heliometer. 

The "pledge" of Prof. Bache, in 1855, so often referred 
to, was contingent upon the acquirement of a Heliometer, a® 
recommended ; since none exists in this country, and the 
problem which he desired to have investigated required its use. 

The instrument is distinguished from an equatorial refract- 
ing telescope by the peculiarity that the object-glass is cut in 
halves ; so that each half may give an independent image of the 
same object. These images are superposed and coincide when 
the two achromatic semi-lenses are in such a position that the 
two form one object-glass of one complete lens; but by sliding 
either half to one side, the two images are of course separated. 

By so changing the relative position of the half-lenses, that 
the image of one object, seen through one half, shall coincide 
with the image of another object, as seen through the other 
half, the observer determines the angular distance between 
the two objects, by measuring the relative displacement of the 
parts of his object-glass. 

The heliometer possesses many great advantages over any 
ordinary micrometer, among which is its capability of measur- 
ing angles many times larger; and its adaptation to the 
measurement of the sun's diameter, (which is not contained 
within the field of an ordinary telescope, and cannot therefore 
be measured by common micrometers,) gave to the instrument 
its name of Heliometer. 

The magnificent instrument constructed by the Brothers 
Repsold, of Hamburg, for the Radcliffe observatory at Oxford, 
contained so great a number of improvements over its prede- 
cessors, that the question was seriously agitated whether some 
new name should not be given to it, to mark its great diversity 
from the heliometers previously constructed. To examine and 



149 

study this instrument thoroughly, formed an important part of 
my mission to Europe in 1855, and was the chief motive of Mr. 
Spencer's voyage in the following spring. To the kindness, 
genial hospitality, and ready aid and suggestions of Mr. John- 
son, both of us were deeply indebted for new and important 
ideas, which his ripe experience suggested for our guidance in 
the construction of another instrument. 

In awarding the construction of the Dudley Heliometer to 
Mr. Spencer, it was made a condition by the Executive Com- 
mittee that the plans should be satisfactory to me. And 
although I soon learned to repose the highest confidence in Mr. 
Spencer's mastery of dioptrics and of the theory of instruments, 
the responsibility, thus thrown upon me personally, rendered it 
necessary that I should thoroughly examine and study the vari- 
ous modifications which he from time to time suggested. The 
amount of study, thought and care, entailed by this duty, can 
be fully appreciated only by a practical astronomer. 

Mr. Spencer first made the startling proposition to dispense 
entirely with the divided object-glass, and fulfil its office by a 
divided concave achromatic lens, placed near the eye-end of the 
tube. Many serious disadvantages would thus be obviated ; 
and after full discussion and careful study I became convinced 
that such a change would be a decided advance, and indeed a 
brilliant improvement. Among its advantages would be the 
very great ones, of being able to employ a much larger object- 
glass with no greater expense, and of obviating some of the 
most serious disadvantages of the Eadcliffe instrument, — espe- 
cially those connected with the measurement of angles of posi- 
tion, and with the flexure caused by a great weight at the 
object-end of the tube. It would be out of place to enter here 
upon any technical discussion, but I may say that I became 
convinced that the proposed modification would be a forward 
step as great as that of the Repsolds in devising and construct- 
iug the Radcliffe heliometer. Of course my assent was joyfully 
given. 

As the plans shaped themselves, Mr. Spencer suggested con- 
tinually new changes, which formed the subject of careful study 



150 

and discussion, but finally a grand idea, eclipsing all previous 
ones, was elaborated and proposed by him, and received my 
full indorsement, after long and careful study. He now pro- 
poses entirely to dispense with any division of a lens, and to attain 
the desired end by the employment of two prisms. 

The instrument in this perfected form becomes more than a 
heliometer. It is an instrument of far superior power and 
scope ; adapted especially to those purposes for which the 
heliometer was devised, but attaining them without the sacrifice 
of other desirable ends which are necessarily surrendered in 
the heliometer. It is an instrument upon which the gifted 
inventor may be well content to rest his reputation ; and in 
which I feel that it is allowable for me to have some pride, even 
for the very subordinate part which -I have had in bringing 
about its design. 

A prominent object of my expedition to Europe in Septem- 
ber, 1855, was to give the order and make the arrangements for 
a heliometer from the Brothers Repsold. But, on consulting 
these eminent artists, I found that I had under-estimated both 
the probable cost and the probable time ; and therefore, after 
full discussion with them both of the principles which I desired 
to have incorporated, and of those which they recommended, I 
left the definite order suspended until I could report the facts 
to Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, and obtain farther instructions. 

The circumstances under which the order was finally given 
to Mr. Spencer will be fully detailed in § 28 of Part Second. 

Such is a brief summary of the facts regarding the Heliom- 
eter, — a matter which, like everything else of prominence in 
the history of the Observatory, is now made a means of attack- 
ing me and of holding me up to censure for alleged misdeeds. 
For its non-completion I am held up to odium ; and it is seldom, 
if ever, mentioned in the " Statement of the Trustees" without 
being coupled with some fling, or sneer, or censure, directly or 
indirectly aimed at me. The letter of Mr. Spencer, given in 
the Appendix, contains answers to some interrogatories which 
I had addressed to him, upon this among other subjects. 






151 

12. Clocks and Time Signals. 
Two kinds of time are employed in Observatories ; the one 
is that in which celestial observations are almost exclusively 
made, and which is regulated by the transits of the fixed stars ; 
the other, that, which is in use in the ordinary pursuits of life, 
and is dependent upon the sun. The former is called sidereal 
time, and with this an astronomer has chiefly to deal ; the 
latter is called mean or civil time, and is the only kind known 
to the great mass of men. Of the former, there are 366J 
days in a year ; of the latter, there are 365 \. The exact deter- 
mination of the absolute time, at which a given phenomenon 
occurs, forms the only subject of many astronomical obser- 
vations, and is an essential part of almost all ; and every 
astronomical observer needs a sidereal time-piece close at hand. 
My plan in the arrangement of the Dudley Observatory com- 
prised the following apparatus : 

1. A system of dials, one in each observing room, not merely 
regulated, but absolutely driven, by means of telegraphic con- 
nection with one central sidereal clock, which was to be imbed- 
ded in the base of the great central pier, and thus removed as 
far as possible from the influence of atmospheric changes. 
This " Normal clock," as it is called, was ordered at Altona 
during my visit to Europe in 1855. The dials have long since 
been completed, but the Observatory possesses as yet but one 
astronomical instrument, for which a dial is needed. And a 
sidereal clock presented by the Messrs. Blunt of New York 
affords all requisite facilities, in the stead of the expected one 
from Altona. 

2. A similar system of dials for connection with the clock 
which indicates mean time. This latter clock, described by me 
at the inauguration of the Observatory, consists of an appa- 
ratus by which a galvanic battery (also of peculiar construc- 
tion) sustains the oscillations of a compensated pendulum, — this 
pendulum, by means of the same battery, governing another 
series of dials, which, however, do not require by any means the 
delicacy needed for the sidereal ones used for making observa- 
tions. One of the dials of the mean-time clock was specially 



152 

ordered and constructed previous to the Inauguration, at the 
request of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby. It differs from the rest 
in having for its face a large and handsomely cut slab of mar- 
ble three feet square, and forms a prominent object to one 
entering the Observatory building. On the left hand of the 
entrance, precisely opposite, is the pendulum which governs it. 

3. For recording the beats of the clocks and the moment of an 
observation, made by the telegraphic or American method, an 
apparatus called a Chronograph is employed. One of these 
chronographs will be required for each observing room. At 
present, of course, only one is needed; namely, for the Merid- 
ian circle. This was completed and placed in the Observatory 
in the middle of August, 1856, although my Accusers state the 
reverse. So far from being an entire failure, as alleged by 
them, it is a superior and successful instrument. It did not 
cost $750, as asserted by the same authority, but $252. 

4. Apparatus for telegraphing time to railroad stations or 
distant places. This consists of two parts, the signal-givers 
and the signal-receivers. The Astronomer Royal of England 
has been especially successful in arranging and employing 
apparatus of this character; and through his kindness and 
attention I obtained many valuable and important ideas which 
have guided me in the construction of the apparatus for the 
Dudley Observatory. This apparatus is, however, essentially 
different in its nature and arrangement from that employed at 
Greenwich. Through the skill of Messrs. Farmer and Polsey, 
the ideas furnished by me "in the rough," so to speak, were 
elaborated and executed with elegance and success. The orders 
were given early in 1856, and the progress of the construction 
frequently inspected by me. The work was almost finished 
when the commercial embarrassments, in the autumn of 1857, 
caused a temporary suspension of it by the maker. This was, 
however, resumed, and the apparatus completed at once, so soon 
as measures were taken in February last to put the Observatory 
into operation. 

In the First Attack of Mr. Olcott, I am violently assaulted 
because these clocks were ordered at all, since, as he expressed 



153 

it, they were " useless, only as toys for the entertainment of my 
juvenile companions and of visiters." In the Second Attack, I 
am censured because they were not completed at a still earlier 
date ! The order for them was given at the express request of 
Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, for the sake of perfecting my plans 
for furnishing time-signals. The undertaking cost me much 
trouble, thought and unease, and was executed with all the 
promptness which I could secure. 

Such is the apparatus for keeping the two kinds of time, for 
recording the time, and for transmitting time-signals. The 
total expense of the whole, including two journeys of the 
makers to Albany and back, and all the incidental outlays, has 
been as follows, as nearly as I can ascertain, my error in the 
total probably, I think certainly, not exceeding two or three 
dollars. 

Corning clock, pendulum and dial, $189 14 

Small dial, used at the inauguration, __ 32 00 

Chronograph, 252 00 

Three sympathetic dials for mean time, 150 00 

Three observing dials for sidereal time, 323 75 

Signal-giving apparatus, 50 00 

Two large clocks for regulation by telegraph signals, 152 50 
All other expenses, 162 03 

Total, $1,311 42 

Under the latter head are included the battery, magnets, 
insulated wire, expenses of line to the city of Albany, of putting 
up the apparatus, freight, expressage, traveling expenses of 
makers, &c, &c, more than two-thirds of these having been 
incurred previous to the Inauguration in August, 1856. About 
half the total amount for time-apparatus was advanced by me 
personally to the makers, in default of payment by the Trus- 
tees, when due. 

Yet in this respect, also, I am accused of "wasteful extrava- 
gance !" These clocks, chronograph, &c, form one of the few 
cases in which the outlays were subject to my control and 

incurred upon my responsibility. 
11 



154 

I was informed by Dr. Armsby, at an early period of my 
connection with the Observatory, that the Hon. Erastus Corning 
had subscribed $1000 towards providing it with time. Not, — 
Dr. Armsby said, — for a clock alone, but " for providing the 
Observatory with time." In acknowledgement of this liberality, 
I suggested to Dr. Armsby, very early in 1856, that the great 
marble dial and its pendulum might advantageously be known 
by the name of the Corning clock, since from this clock would 
proceed all the time-signals which were to be transmitted to 
distant places ; and this Dial was itself a conspicuous object in 
the Observatory. He was much pleased with the idea ; and 
from that date the large marble dial, showing mean time, has 
been known as the " Corning clock." In July or August, 1856, 
previous to the Inauguration, Dr. Armsby had a marble tablet, 
bearing the name of the donor, engraved and placed beneath 
this large dial. At the inauguration, a wire two miles long 
was laid by Mr. Gavit from the Observatory, (where it was 
connected with the Corning clock,) to the large tent in which 
the addresses were delivered, and in which one of the dials 
was brought into the circuit, so that the time was telegraphed 
in the regular way from the Corning clock to the dial in the 
tent. 

Yet the Accusers, quoting the language in which I referred 
to it at the time, now charge me with deliberate falsehood in 
the presence of that mighty audience. They first assert that 
" the Corning clock" had not arrived from Europe, falsely 
implying that the Normal clock was known by that name, and 
then say (p. 21) : 

" That the deception might be the more complete, the speaker, when 
he alluded to the " Corning Clock," turned significantly to a clock exhibited 
by Mr. Gavit, upon the rear of the platform." 

Thus they charge me with practising a gross fraud upon the 
audience — by pointing to an ordinary clock, held up for the 
purpose of aiding in the deception, while the clock with which 
this was declared to be in telegraphic connection, if in existence, 
or even begun, was three thousand miles off, instead of being at 
the Observatory. 



155 

And let it be remembered, that all the proofs of their confi- 
dence and regard, all the reliance upon my supposed truthfulness 
and probity, which these men confess to having exhibited for 
more than a year afterwards, were manifested in spite of their 
knowledge of the enormous fraud which they declare I thus 
publicly perpetrated ! 

The proposition to furnish time-signals to the New York 
Central Railroad, and to the city of New York, were distinct 
offers of the Trustees, the letters being prepared by me, in 
January, 1856, at the request of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, 
and signed also by Professor Bache and myself in behalf of the 
Scientific Council. Our signatures were appended in guaranty 
of the feasibility of the plans, and Professor Bache appeared 
before the Board of Directors of the Railroad to advocate the 
proposals ; but they have never been definitely accepted. The 
offer to New York City was to give regular time-signals gratui- 
tously, provided the city would furnish the requisite apparatus. 
The proposition was transmitted to the Common Council by the 
Mayor, with a message strongly recommending its acceptance, 
and was referred to a committee, which never reported. The 
offer to the New York Central Railroad was also referred by the 
directors to a committee, of which Mr. J. V. L. Pruyn was 
chairman. Just previous to his departure for Europe, soon 
after, on business of the road, he authorized me to have two 
signal-receiving clocks constructed for testing the plan, and 
from that time I heard nothing farther from the directors on 
the subject. Still, by the wish of Mr. Olcott, I went on and 
took the necessary steps for the construction of a signal-giver 
and two signal-receivers, which were perfected and constructed. 
The care and trouble which they cost, both myself, and the 
makers, can only be appreciated by those acquainted with the 
details of such apparatus. My own labors were cheerfully 
contributed, though at a period when I was heavily weighed 
down with other and onerous duties ; the makers presented no 
account, direct or indirect, for the many experiments and trials 
necessarily entailed, but deemed the honor of success a suffi- 
cient recompense. It may be seen what has been our reward. 



156 

It would be incredible, that a misstatement so enormous as 
that of the Accusers, on page 34 of their " Statement," could be 
made, did it come from any other men, claiming to be reputable. 
The laying of a wire to New York city, since the exclusive use of 
existing wires for the requisite time could not be obtained, was 
the chief obstacle to the enterprise when the original offer was 
made. More than three-quarters of the estimated expense to 
the city, in case the offer should be accepted, consisted in the 
cost of this wire. Overtures were made to the telegraph com- 
pany in January, 1856, relative to the terms upon which they 
would permit their posts to be used ; and were made, moreover, 
at the instance of Mr. Olcott. Yet he now asserts, that when 
on the last day of the year 1856, 1 spoke of this wire in a letter 
to him, " it was to the Trustees a- startling proposition. It 
created great surprise/' &c, &c. And to make it an occa- 
sion of suspicion to the public also, the Accusers dexterously 
change one word, converting " a new telegraph wire" into "a 
new telegraph line" in order to convey the idea that, in the 
exercise of my accustomed extravagance, I recommended the 
building of a line of telegraph from Albany to New York, at 
the expense of the Observatory. It does not require any large 
amount of telegraphic knowledge to perceive the difference 
between " a telegraph wire " and " a telegraph line." But they 
change the word so quietly, that they think the deception will 
pass unnoticed. Besides, it was to be at the cost of the city, 
if the proposition was accepted, and not of the Observatory 
at all ! 

Abundant evidence, — and evidence, too, which Mr. Olcott will 
hardly venture to dispute, — can be presented to show that he 
distinctly understood and approved the idea of this telegraph 
wire when the time-signal plan was first broached, early in 
January, 1856; and that it created no surprise whatever, 
when the subject was renewed, a year later. An independent 
wire had been originally insisted upon by Mr. Olcott himself, 
upon my first explanation of the serious difficulties which 
would be encountered in using the wires of the telegraph 
company. 



157 

This man and his coadjutors in the effort to break down my 
character, now set up (p. 12) the barefaced pretence, that a per- 
formance on my part of what they call my engagement, would 
have secured to the Institution an income of $1,500; that I 
" confidently promised that time should be transmitted regularly 
to New York city, and to all the railroads, on and after the 
28th day of 7 ' August, 1856, (p. 34) and that the mounting of the 
instruments would " have brought into the treasury of the Obser- 
vatory a very respectable and gratifying income," (p. 45). 

These deliberate and wilfully malicious misstatements, gross 
and astounding as they must appear to every honest man, are 
but the type of those which characterize this production of 
Mr. Olcott and his co-laborers in the work, certified to as it is, 
from beginning to end, by the other signers. 

13. The Catalogue. 

A Catalogue of stars, down to the sixth magnitude inclusive, 
was long since marked out as the work by which the Merid- 
ian-circle might first be made capable of rendering the most 
service to astronomy. In the absence of any equatorially 
mounted instrument, by which regular series of observations 
upon asteroids, comets or double stars, might be advanta- 
geously made, — the whole energies of the institution ought, in 
my judgement, to be devoted to some undertaking of that less 
popular, but certainly quite as important class, for which the 
employment of a meridian instrument is essential. And all 
considerations seemed to point to this Catalogue as the work 
at once most appropriate and most desirable. 

It may be well to premise that the purpose of the Meridian 
circle is simply to measure positions of celestial bodies • that, 
as its name implies, the observation is made at the time when 
the body is crossing the meridian, and therefore within a very 
limited period of time, — rarely amounting to so much as thirty 
seconds before and after the instant of transit. And it will be 
evident, therefore, that before making the desired observation, 
it is requisite that the place of the object to be observed should 
be approximately known, in order that the telescope may be 



158 

pointed beforehand to the right position for seeing it as soon as 
it enters the field of view, and that the astronomer may be 
upon the watch at the right moment. 

Consequently the first step toward the preparation of the 
catalogue is the construction of a list of the approximate 
positions of those stars which are to be observed, and of 
whose accurate places and magnitudes the catalogue will con- 
sist. This is called a " Working List," and its preparation 
must necessarily precede all other parts of the work. To pre- 
pare it, two things are necessary : first, the selection of the 
stars; and secondly, the compilation and reduction of the best 
determinations of those places which are at hand. This work 
has been completed by my indefatigable and faithful assistants, 
since we took charge of the Observatory; and not only com- 
pleted, but independently performed in every part by two 
different persons. They have devoted their nights to a careful 
scrutiny of the heavens, numbering, mapping clown and repeat- 
edly determining the magnitude of every star within or near 
the limits of visibility to the naked eye in a cloudless and 
moonless sky, in order to decide which ought to be incorpo- 
rated into, and which excluded from, the catalogue. And after 
the selection of the stars was made, and those which are to 
compose the new catalogue were decided on, the various exist- 
ing catalogues have been laboriously searched for past determi- 
nations, and these determinations referred to the adopted 
equinox. This labor of computation, like the previously men- 
tioned work of observation, has all been performed in duplicate. 
Observations of the magnitudes of these stars have been con- 
stantly going on through every favorable night; the total 
number of observations of this kind amounting, already (Nov. 
19) to more than 4000. Most of these photometric observations 
of magnitude are made with the naked eye, assisted in the case 
of stars beyond the fifth magnitude, by common opera glasses. 
The results thus attained are extremely satisfactory; and 
though Mr. Olcott and some of the majority of the Board have 
sneered at and taunted us, both publicly and privately, because 
we undertook to make astronomical observations with opera 






159 

glasses, I am far from being ashamed of the fact. No astrono- 
mical instrument belonged to the Observatory excepting the 
meridian-circle and a little portable telescope three feet long, 
known as the " comet seeker." The preparations for using the 
former went on unremittingly, as has been already shown ; the 
latter has been in constant use, as will hereafter be mentioned ; 
and we have done what we could for astronomy, with the small 
transit, and with such other suitable appliances as were at our 
disposal. 

It will not be forgotten that all this labor has been gratui- 
tously performed in the intervals of those official duties upon 
which our subsistence depends. 

14. Other Observatory Work. 

The grounds about the Observatory presented in the early 
spring a desolate and repulsive appearance. Large tracts were 
destitute of grass, and offered to the view only a series of heaps 
of offensive rubbish ; no road of any kind was laid out within 
the inclosure ; the dwelling house was inaccessible for carriages, 
and almost so for pedestrians ; there was no water and no means 
of obtaining it, except by bringing it up the steep hill from a 
distance. The inclosure, which was one only in name, was a 
favorite haunt of stray cattle, and, on Sundays and holidays, 
a rendezvous of idlers and of low characters. 

I have laid out the grounds ; caused the naked earth to be 
sodded; a road to be constructed; have planted trees and 
shrubs — a great part of those generously given by Mr. David- 
son (one of the minority Trustees), having died from not having 
been properly set out ; caused a well to be dug ; drains and 
water courses to be laid ; paths to be made ; and numerous 
deficiencies in the house to be remedied. Of all this, the 
expense of obtaining water from a well was refunded to me 
by the Trustees; — nothing else. They also completed an 
unfinished sewer leading from the premises. From my private 
means, I have provided the requisite furniture for the house 
and Observatory ; the casing for the piers ; many necessary 
books ; all the expenses of maintenance, such as fuel, station- 
ery, messenger, &c. The debt for casing the piers, although 



160 

contracted in conformity with a vote of the Executive Com- 
mittee, this committee subsequently "felt at liberty to repudi- 
ate." The salary of a superintendent of the establishment; 
and since May, that of a special assistant to accompany 
visiters, have also been paid by me. The materials for making 
gas were for a long time provided by the generosity of my 
friends, Messrs. Hawley and Aubin, the liberal donors of the 
entire apparatus by which the gas is manufactured on the 
premises. So far as not provided by them, the expense of 
materials and manufacture has also been defrayed by me. 

In addition to these things, I have superintended the build- 
ing of fences, the laying of a plank walk up the hill, the exca- 
vations of large pieces of hill-side to complete the inclosure, 
&c, &c. 

So much for work not of a scientific character, but for the 
most part necessary in order that the astronomical investiga- 
tions might be properly and conveniently prosecuted. 

In addition to the scientific work already alluded to, a regular 
series of observations of variable stars have been carried on ; 
this work like the photometric estimates for the Catalogue, being 
one especially adapted for prosecution before the Meridian- 
circle was available. The comet-seeker has been actively in 
use, and has already been the means of adding one to the num- 
ber of known planets. 

Up to the time just mentioned, (Nov. 19), there have been 
made by Messrs. Toomer, Winslow and Tilton, about 3000 
determinations of magnitude for the stars of the catalogue, 
and by Messrs. Toomer, Winslow and Searle, about 800 observa- 
tions of variable stars, and 300 of stars suspected to be variable, 
or used for comparison. Moreover, a very large number of 
star-transits have been observed for time, &c, by Mr. Til- 
ton, in addition to the long series which go to make up the 
longitude campaign ; and besides these, every occupation which 
has been visible with the comet-seeker, has been observed, 
chiefly by Mr. Searle. The constants of terrestial magnetism 
were carefully determined by Mr. Dean, while the longitude 
operations were in progress. This enumeration does not include 
the constant and laborious testing of clocks and chronometers, 



161 

nor any of my own work; nor that done to or with the merid- 
ian circle, which has of course consumed much time and labor. 
I am disposed to consider this a very respectable array of 
work for volunteer laborers, contending against numberless and 
serious difficulties; followed, step by step, by persecutions and 
annoyances of every kind, which the pertinacious cunning of Dr. 
Armsby could suggest, or the bitter malignity of Mr. Olcott 
bring about ; and laden meanwhile, with an amount of other 
and independent duties which might well task the powers and 
patience of stronger men. 

15. Side Issues. 

There are a number of false accusations, directly or indi- 
rectly made by the Accusers, which, though not bearing at all 
upon their main charges of incompetency, disrespect, peculation, 
neglectfulness, &c, are yet designed to throw odium upon me as 
a person of offensive manners and unworthy personal character. 
And there are a number of analogous attacks upon Prof. Bache, 
as being that other member of the Scientific Council, who had, 
from his position, been able to do the most in behalf of the 
Observatory, and who must therefore now receive the severest 
castigation from Mr. Olcott for his "want of Harmony." It is true 
that the attacks upon him in the "Statement of the Trustees" 
are not comparable in bitterness and vindictiveness with those 
which Mr. Olcott has since instigated in other quarters against 
Prof. Bache in connection with the Coast Survey, with which 
his reputation is so largely identified. 

To such assaults as these I propose making such special 
replies as they may seem to demand in the Detailed Refutation. 
In this place I pass them by with very few remarks. 

The attempt, on page 17, to excite the dislike of those who 
may not have received special invitations to the Inauguration of 
the Observatory, is sufficiently defeated by making known the 
following facts: 1st, that if any such invitations were issued in 
this country it was without my participation or knowledge; — 
2d, that the letters from which the alleged quotations are made, 
did not refer to invitations to the Inauguration at all, but to 



162 

certain invitations to attend the meeting of the American Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Science, of which I happened 
to be General Secretary; — 3d, that these invitations were to 
accept certain complimentary free passages, fourteen in number, 
presented through the generosity of the owners of the New 
York ocean steamship lines, and which the officers of the 
Association were in honor bound to offer only to gentlemen 
of high scientific eminence, the invitations being not only 
limited in number, but confined by the terms of the offer to 
European scientists ; 4th, that the extracts as quoted are 
grossly mutilated and distorted, and that the passage request- 
ing that certain persons be not invited, — -is a passage fabricated 
and inserted by the authors of the pamphlet, for the sole pur- 
pose of exciting odium against me. 

The attempts throughout the volume to sow discord between 
myself and gentlemen with whom I stand, as I hope always to 
do, in most agreeable personal relations, have been in most 
cases too easily understood to be productive of any harm. 
There are ten such cases in addition to the matter of invita- 
tions already cited. And finally, on page 163, the Accusers say : 

" Those who have become familiar with the mental habitudes of Dr. 
Gould, are quite aware that it is very common for him to speak in terms 
of disparagement and depreciation, of the achievements of other scientific 
men. The Trustees, did they think it proper to resort to the weapons in 
their own hands, could easily show that American astronomers are entirely 
justifiable in withholding from him their friendship and co-operation." 

How strange that they should have bestowed such marks of 
confidence and regard upon me, with these very " weapons in 
their own hands." The alleged "weapons" consist of certain 
personal allusions or remarks, in letters of a highly confiden- 
tial character, written by me to Dr. Armsby. They were 
mostly published in the "Statement" of the Majority, and I 
have reason to believe that in those cases, or in most cases 
where the Accusers did not venture to print them, they have 
been sent by Dr. Armsby or Mr. Olcott to the persons con- 
cerned. In almost every case they were in reply to questions, 
or in response to remarks, from Dr. Armsby. They were of the 
same nature as the personal allusions which every man some- 



163 

times makes in conversation or correspondence of a confidential 
nature. My press-copies fortunately enable me to know just 
what I have said ; and I have no hesitation in declaring that 
there is very little which I should not be willing to say again 
to my trusted friends. There is nothing in it all, from the 
alpha to the omega, which would in my belief affect the " friend- 
ship and co-operation " of American Astronomers. And in the 
cases of Dr. Brunnow, (who is not an American astronomer,) 
and of Prof. Mitchel, no want of " friendship or co-operation" 
had ever been suspected prior to the publication of Mr. Olcott's 
Manifesto at the close of June. In the case of the former 
gentleman the affair is not difficult of comprehension by me ; 
in the case of the latter it must have been built upon some 
pre-arranged fabric of misrepresentation, — which my present 
knowledge of Dr. Armsby's peculiar gifts abundantly explains. 

The scandalous distortions and contemptible innuendoes 
regarding the Astronomical Journal are easily disposed of by a 
statement of facts. One of the majority, Mr. R. H. Pruyn, 
having made himself very prominent in circulating misrepre- 
sentations on this subject during the past summer, a friend 
addressed me a note informing me o»f the fact, and making cer- 
tain inquiries. My answer is given in the Detailed Refutation, 
(page 239) and will, I think, be considered as disposing of the 
subject. 

The attacks upon Mrs. Dudley, upon Professor Bache, upon 

Messrs. Yan Rensselaer, Corning, J. V. L. Pruyn, upon Mr. 

Morgan, the late Chief of Police, and upon the Committee 

appointed at the Citizens' Meeting, require no labored reply 

from me. Their "Want of Harmony" with Mr. Olcott explains 

it all. 

CHAPTER VII. 

SUMMARY. 

The chief points to which it seemed important for me to 
direct attention have now been presented. For the sake of 
conciseness my assertions have not been accompanied by 
extended demonstrations. Previous to the publication of the 
attacks of the Trustees, I should have trusted that my word 



164 

would suffice. Under the present circumstances, it is proper, 
where the case admits of it, to submit proofs, and this will be 
done in the " Detailed Refutation " of the " Statement of the 
Trustees," which constitutes the Second Part of this Reply. 
I have endeavored to call attention to the following facts : 
1st. That -the attempted expulsion of myself and assistants 
from the Observatory, in June last, was a bold violation of 
plighted faith, and of a formal contract; was unwarranted 
upon any ground, and was destitute even of a plausible pre- 
text ; that it could only be defended by the theory of some act 
of mine subsequent to the compact of December, 1857, and 
flagrant enough to justify a violation of that compact. 

2d. That the charges, which form the burden of the " State- 
ment of the Trustees," are based upon alleged occurrences, acts 
or discoveries antecedent to the vote by which they placed the 
Observatory in my hands. 

3d. That the Scientific Council was elected in September, 
1855 ; and, if not elected really with all the formalities, that any 
informality was entirely waived or cured by the recognition 
and acquiescence of the Trustees, and by the repeated public 
declarations of their accrecHted and acknowledged agents, that 
we were such Council ; that our functions were not " merely advi- 
sory," nor intended to be such, but that we were deliberately 
clothed with full power over the scientific operations of the 
institution ; that only the promises of such full power secured 
our acceptance of the office ; that only its bestowal could have 
retained us in the position, — for we asked no emolument, no 
reimbursement of our constant expenses, no reward whatever, 
other than the opportunity to make the Dudley Observatory an 
astronomical institution, rather than a public exhibition ; that 
an attempt was made in January, 1858, to declare our previous 
election informal, for the sake of introducing into its ratifica- 
tion, conditions and modifying phrases, by which the Managers 
might subsequently claim to reduce us from the Scientific 
Council of the Observatory, to the scientific counselers of the 
gentlemen who constitute the Board of Trustees. 

4th. That a part of the " wasteful expenditures " — which it 






165 

is alleged (and truly, as I believe) have been incurred, — have 
been made not only without my concurrence, but without any 
participation whatever on my part, and against my opinions 
and remonstrances ; that the responsibility for the rest of the 
" wasteful expenditures," (though incurred in relation to plans 
proposed or recommended by me,) belongs exclusively to the 
Trustees, — whose duty it was to know what plans could, and 
what could not, be executed within the means of the corpora- 
tion, and to regulate and control all expenditures; — and not to 
me, who neither made the contracts, nor selected nor knew the 
parties employed, nor gave them directions, nor approved the 
bills. 

5th. That, — although I did, for a short time, consent to under- 
take the superintendence and direction of the work performed 
in execution of the plans for the necessary alterations and con- 
structions at the Observatory, so far as this was possible for a 
non-resident visiting the place only at considerable intervals 
of time, — yet my directions were systematically interfered with 
in my absence by Dr. Armsby, my plans thwarted, and my 
control, therefore, merely nominal, — all attempts to maintain it 
being soon abandoned; and even while my nominal control 
lasted, my instructions were necessarily general in their nature, 
except as pertaining now and then to some nice point, not 
attended with any considerable expense. 

6th. That the " delays," now made the basis of accusations 
against me, were of such a character that it was neither in my 
power to occasion or avoid them. That, moreover, the fact of 
delay was comparatively unimportant, inasmuch as the plan 
agreed on contemplated no beginning until a proper endow- 
ment-fund should be secured. 

To these facts, I would add two more, viz : 

7th. That until November, 1851, I never had reason to sus- 
pect the existence of any disaffection or coldness on the part 
of any member of the Board of Trustees. Notwithstanding the 
assertions which pervade the " Statement," and the garbled and 
falsified extract on its page 37, which is made to lead to an oppo- 
site inference, — no word or sign led me to suspect any other 



166 

feeling than high regard, confidence and a sense of gratitude in 
behalf of the institution. Strangely as this declaration may 
strike those who have read the " Statement of the Trustees," 
it is strictly true. 

8th. That out of the seventy-one extracts from my private 
letters, which serve as the skeleton upon which the " Statement" 
is constructed, there are only eight which are correctly given as 
I wrote them, so far as I can ascertain. There are six which I 
cannot find in my press-copies. One of these I am certain that 
I never could have written ; and one has been garbled. The 
remaining four, in the absence of proof to the contrary, 
may, perhaps, be assumed as quoted truly, and included with 
the eight above mentioned. Of the fifty-eight mis-quoted pas- 
sages, there are forty-seven in which the changes are delib- 
erate perversions, the motive of which is manifest ; and, 
in twenty-six of them, the falsification is so extreme as to 
make me appear to say the reverse of what I did say, — or con- 
sists in some fabricated and interpolated words, upon which 
interpolation or fabrication some argument or inference is drawn 
to my discredit. Recurring to the eight genuine extracts, and 
to the eleven in which the perversions are not serious, there are 
several of these in which the quotation commences or ends 
abruptly, in order to exclude some statement or clause which, 
if given, would furnish an essential qualification or disproval of 
something imputed to me. 

The whole of the charges of Mr. Olcott were after-thoughts ; 
they were devised and concocted as the basis of that cunningly 
contrived book, by means of which my usefulness as a man,my 
standing as an astronomer, my character for truthfulness, my 
reputation for honesty, were all to be annihilated at a single 
blow. 

There is but one additional point to which I would ask 
attention here, viz : the attempt of the Trustees, with the 
assistance of Dr. Briinnow, of Ann Arbor, to take from me what 
little credit astronomers might be inclined to award, for the 
peculiarities of the Meridian-circle. Of Dr. Briinnow's motiv.es, 
both my judgement and my feelings lead me to say nothing. 



167 

Up to the month of July, when this fierce attack was made upon 
me, I thought him not only a friend, but a devoted one; and 
the declaration of Mr. Olcott that our mutual relations were 
such as to preclude co-operation, brought in his case, as in Prof. 
Mitchel's, rather a sense of amusement at the absurdity of the 
statement than any other sensation. 

It was not until some time afterwards that the truth became 
manifest, that Dr. Briinnow had been induced to minister to the 
the cabal against me. In regard to the Meridian-circle, — if he 
really examined the instrument in Berlin, the most charitable 
conclusion I can come to, is, either that his recollection has 
failed him, or that I have hitherto over-estimated his know- 
ledge of instruments. A general view of the principles upon 
which this instrument is constructed may be fonnd in § 7 of 
this chapter, where passages are cited from my description of 
it before the American Association, to which Dr. Briinnow lis- 
tened with every appearance of attention, and at the close of 
which he offered me his apparently sincere congratulations. 

It is worthy of remark that neither of the two co-laborers 
in science, — who, from being trusted friends, deserted me and 
became open and avowed enemies upon the first appearance of 
need on the one side, and temptation on the other, — are my 
countrymen. 

I have now presented a full history of the Observatory since 
my relations with it commenced ; as also a reply to the princi- 
pal false accusations brought against me by Mr. Olcott and his 
majority. Here the whole case might be rested ; yet, as here- 
tofore stated, I propose to add a Second Part containing a 
Detailed Refutation of the misstatements of my Accusers, in 
regular order. 

And in closing this General Reply, I will present a summing 
up of the case, for which I am indebted to the kindness of an 
eminent friend, who has brought his powers of analysis and of 
clear statement to bear on the relations between the parties, and 
on the legal and moral duties and obligations flowing from 
those relations : 



168 

I. The Observatory was placed in Dr. Gould's hands, and to him was 

given the exclusive charge of the Institution as Chief Astronomer, 
he taking the title of "Director." To the Scientific Council, of which 
he was one, was given the supreme and exclusive supervision and 
control in all things affecting the scientific management and conduct 
of the Observatory. He was not an "officer" or "servant " of the 
Trustees, under the power of appointment given them by the act of 
incorporation. He was not in their pay, or in their employ, as such 
11 officer" or " servant." He was in charge, with a corps of assist- 
ants of his own selection and choice, subject only to the Scientific 
Council, in the sphere of his proper functions, by virtue of a compact 
which the Trustees entered into with him and them, under the general 
power given them by the act of incorporation, relative to the manage- 
ment and disposition of the estate and concerns of the corporation. 

II. For the indispensable objects of the compact, the exclusive and abso- 

lute possession and control of the dwelling-house, Observatory, 
instruments, library, and premises, passed from the Trustees to Dr. 
Gould, to be held by him personally, and in behalf of the Scientific 
Council, — subject only to such reasonable access, admission and 
privilege on the part of the Trustees as might be necessary for the 
due performance of their proper duties as the ultimate legal guardians 
of the property, and in the administration of the ordinary business 
affairs, and the finances of the Observatory. 

III. The time during which this arrangement was to endure, was that 
period during which the Trustees should remain unable, for want of 
a sufficient available endowment, after meeting the other current 
expenses of carrying on the Observatory, to employ and pay a com- 
petent chief astronomer, and a proper corps of assistants, sufficient to 
do the proper astronomical work according to the true design of the 
Institution. The period contemplated was not less than two years, 
and might be much more. But in case of the failure of Dr. Gould, 
from any fault of his own, or by reason of inability from any cause 
not the fault of the Trustees, to perform all that he undertook to per- 
form as the chief astronomer of the Observatory, the Trustees would 
be at liberty, and it would be their duty, to take the proper legal 
measures to put an end to the compact, and to resume their entire 
authority over the Institution. 

IV. The pecuniary obligations of the Trustees under the compact were : 
1st. In express terms, to provide the necessary means, supposed to 

be on hand or at command, for the proper mounting of instru- 
ments, and for indispensable equipments. This included the 
proper equipment of the Circle room, and of the Transit room (if 
needed), and the completion and putting up of all the requisite 
apparatus and appliances. It included also the payment of all 
debts or balances for equipments, instruments and apparatus, 
already ordered, and not yet completed or received. 

2d. By necessary implication, to provide the means for completing the 
indispensable constructions and accommodations, at the Observa- 
tory, and at the dwelling-house, and about the grounds. With- 
out this, there could be no occupation, and no beginning or pro- 
secution of astronomical work. 

3d, By express understanding and promise to Dr. Gould, to apply 
the balance of the "State appropriation," after deducting the 



169 

"actual outlay " of cost for the longitude determination, to the 
indispensable expenses of preparing and carrying on the Obser- 
vatory, including furniture for dwelling-room and an office, fuel, 
lights and stationery, care of the premises, &c. 
4th. By necessary implication, in case of the failure of the Trustees 
to receive the $2000 from the State, or any part of it, then to 
meet and pay these same expenses of preparing and carrying on 
the Observatory, out of other funds, if they should have such 
funds, or could procure them, applicable to these objects. 

V. On his part, Dr. Gould was under no obligation to supply any of the 

means needed for any of the objects above stated. But he was at 
liberty, on any failure of duty, or any want of ability, on the part of 
the Trustees, in these particulars, to employ his own means, and apply 
them to any of these objects; the alternative being presented to him 
of doing this, or of abandoning the Observatory, for want of indis- 
pensable supplies from the Trustees. In case of applying his own 
means to any of the objects named, the Trustees would thereby be 
laid under obligations to reimburse him for such expenditures when- 
ever in funds to do so. 

VI. Dr. Gould and his assistants, being in the employ and pay of the 
United States Coast Survey, in which service — at the Coast Survey 
station established by the Superintendent, by permission of the 
Trustees, on the Observatory premises — a fixed portion of their time 
was consumed daily ;^it was only what remained to them of the pro- 
per working hours of each day which Dr. Gould undertook, for 
himself and his assistants, or which he or they were ever expected, to 
devote to the business and work of the Observatory, — the whole serviee 
being, in its inception, gratuitous and voluntary, but, once under- 
taken, carrying with it, under the compact, a just obligation of faith- 
fulness to the Observatory, and the cause of science. 

VII. Prof. Bache, the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, 
having, at the instance of the Trustees, consented to make the 
Observatory premises a Coast Survey station, and fixed it as the 
residence of Dr. Gould and his party of computers in the service of 
the Coast Survey ; having erected a station building on the premises, 
and filled it with Coast Survey instruments and apparatus, and 
having, under a special contract with the Trustees, established the 
longitude of the Observatory, as a point in his system of triangula- 
tion for the great national work he has in charge ; a strong legal and 
moral obligation in addition to other obligations, was thereby imposed 
on the Trustees not to disturb the existing arrangement and compact, 
without a complete justifiable cause, since, under that compact, rights 
had been acquired, not merely of personal value, but highly import- 
ant as connected with great public interests. 

VIII. The Observatory being a public institution, established and sup- 
ported by private munificence, and devoted exclusively to a public 
use — that of the advancement of astronomical science ; and the 
arrangement and compact with Dr. Gould and the Scientific Council 
having been made with a single view to give the Observatory the 
best scientific success, possible to be attained in its straitened financial 
condition, and under the actual circumstances of the case; the 
Trustees, acting strictly in a fiduciary character, have no authority 
or right, legal or moral, suddenly and prematurely to break up that 

12 



170 

arrangement, unless they can show its manifest failure, without fault 
on their side, to secure the scientific objects and success anticipated 
and designed. And for this, there is not the slightest ground of 
pretence. 

IX. No consideration or weight whatever is due to any of the allegations 
now made, as grounds for a rupture with Dr. Gould, where the pre- 
tended occurrences and facts were of a date prior to the compact of 
December, 1857, as ratified in January, 1858, and were confessedly 
as well known and understood then by the active agents and managers 
of the corporation, as they are claimed to be since. These pretended 
occurrences and facts are of such a nature, implying such gross defects 
of character and qualification, and such moral delinquencies, in Dr. 
Gould, that to suppose them true, or approaching the truth, would be 
to impute the deepest discredit and dishonor to those who knew and 
understood them, and who yet, in spite of them, and carefully conceal- 
ing them, deliberately and voluntarily proceeded, upon their own 
motion and proposition, to place the Observatory in his charge. In 
every legal view, and in every moral view, all such allegations are to 
be regarded as mere pretences and inventions, to which no credit 
whatever can be accorded. Besides, a little examination and investi- 
gation show that they are without a shadow of foundation in fact to 
rest upon. 

X. All the allegations of needless delays, and of undue demands for funds 

or means, on the part of Dr. Gould, since the compact and under it, 
are but an elongation of similar alleged faults of a date prior to the 
compact, and like them are mere pretences. 

The question of delays in mounting instruments, and the like, was 
one of which the Director and the Council were the sole judges, 
because it was scientific work, and that alone, which was involved. 
And the Council have declared there had been no unnecessary delay. 

The question of demands for means was one which referred itself 
properly to the compact and the understanding between the parties. 
But the Trustees having the financial management wholly in their 
hands, could control, and have controlled, all expenditures from tW 
funds of the corporation as they pleased. 

XI. The visits of individual Trustees to the Observatory on the 19th and 
21st of May last, and their demand for admission to the rooms and 
instruments in the absence of Dr. Gould, were flagrant violations of 
his right to exclusive possession and control of the premises for all 
purposes connected with the scientific conduct of the Institution ; and 
were manifestly designed to set up and establish a right on their part 
to interfere with him in his exclusive control of the Observatory 
building, instruments and apparatus, and in the distinct sphere of his 
scientific duties and responsibilities. 

The episode of the pretended incivility of Dr. Gould's assistants to 
these visiters, in refusing to give them his keys, belongs to this well- 
devised experiment; and the charge of a vicarious "intentional insult" 
by Dr. Gould in his absence, based on this affair, is a gratuitous 
absurdity. 

XII. The resolutions of the Executive Committee, of the 22d of May, 
1858, presented three demands: 

1st. That the Observatory grounds be converted into an open park 
or promenade for the public. 



171 

2d. That the Observatory building be thrown open to the public, under 

prescribed rules of admission. 
3d. That individual Trustees should have free and independent access 

to the Observatory building, and all its rooms, at any and all 

hours, by means of duplicate keys, in the Director's absence, as 

well as when present. 
And these demands, besides setting up a pretence adverse to the 
right of Dr. Gould to the exclusive control of the premises under the 
compact, involved directly and necessarily the most important con- 
siderations affecting the scientific work and operations to be carried 
on at the Observatory — points which fell exclusively within the pro- 
vince of Dr. Gould, under the Scientific Council, to decide, which the 
Trustees were wholly incompetent to determine, which they had no 
right to determine, because out of their sphere under the compact, 
and which they could only draw to their jurisdiction by usurping the 
functions of the Director and Council. Dr. Gould, to whom alone, 
under the Council, these questions referred themselves, decided and 
declared that these demands were wholly incompatible with the objects 
and the due prosecution of the work, for which the Observatory was 
founded. 
XIII. If any "Want of Harmony" existed between Dr. Gould and any 
of the members of the Board of Trustees, not leading necessarily, and 
by his own fault, to the interruption, obstruction or hinderance of the 
Director in his proper scientific work, and in the scientific conduct of 
the Observatory, such " Want of Harmony " formed no excuse what- 
ever for an attempt to put an end to the compact and oust him from 
his possession. And as the only "Want of Harmony" disclosed in 
the showing of the Trustees, as leading to their resolutions of the 4th 
of June, 1858, and thence to their bolder acts later in June, and in 
July, manifestly arose from the attempted interference of some of 
their number, and of the Executive Committee, with the proper rights 
and authority of Dr. Gould, by acts and demands, which, if acquiesced 
in, would have rendered the scientific control and management of the 
Observatory in his hands for any useful purpose, wholly impossible, 
it was simply taking advantage of their own flagrant wrong, to make 
such a matter of difference a pretended ground for an attempt to break 
up the compact and dispossess the Director. 
XIY. When the Trustees went, by one stride, from a simple complaint 
of a " Want of Harmony " on the 4th of June, without any pretence 
of farther causes of complaint occurring in the meantime, to the official 
acts and resolutions of the 26th of June, by which "the immediate 
withdrawal of Dr. Gould" was insisted on, and sought to justify 
this action by vague allegations against him, then for the first time 
presented, importing incapacity and general unfitness for his duties ; 
they stepped entirely out of their province, and assumed the very 
functions they had themselves expressly assigned to the Scientific 
Couricil by the compact. 

By the terms, both of the compact, and of its ratification, the 
Council alone were charged with the whole responsibility of the 
scientific conduct and character of the Observatory in the hands of 
Dr. Gould. The question of his scientific qualification aud fitness, 
and whether his duties were well or ill performed, if seriously raided 
by the Trustees, belonged necessarily to the Council under the agree- 



172 

ment. If "the supervision of the Scientific Council" over the 
Observatory, given them by the Trustees, did not cover this duty, 
then it covered nothing, and applied to nothing, and was nothing. 

And the attempt, therefore, to force Dr. Gould to a withdrawal on 
any such grounds, by the sole will of the Trustees, without consulta- 
tion with the Council, without notice to them, and in defiance of them, 
was a naked and wanton assumption of impotent authority, in gross 
violation of their own agreement, and in contempt of the proper 
interests of the Observatory as provided for under it. 

XV. It was the duty of the Scientific Council, upon the injurious sugges- 
tions made by the Trustees, to institute a searching inquiry into the 
conduct of Dr. Gould, in his management of the Observatory, and 
into the manner in which his duties had been performed. This they 
did, and, after thorough investigation, they informed the Trustees 
that there was no foundation whatever for any complaint against him. 

The Trustees had then all the assurance, and all the proof, that 
they needed or the case required, that the Institution of which they 
held the legal trust, was properly and satisfactorily cared for and con- 
ducted, and was completely answering the designs of its chief founder 
and its donors, and the scientific objects of its organization, as far as 
its limited means would suffice, under the arrangement and compact 
which they had made to this end. 

And when, therefore, the Trustees proceeded on the 3d of July 
last, to take the step, to which their previous measures had pointed, 
that of officially declaring all relations with the Council dissolved, and 
forbidding their further occupation of the premises — they only added 
one attempt more to the many already essayed, without the shadow 
of a justifiable cause, to trample their own solemn compact under their 
feet, and thus, by a high breach of official trust and duty, expose the 
Observatory, and all the great interests connected with it, to an utter 
sacrifice. 

XVI. The Trustees have taken no material step in this business against 
Dr. Gould. and the Scientific Council, which has not been in direct 
repudiation and defiance of their compact with them. 

For their justification, whether in a legal or moral view, the Trustees 
must be prepared to assume and maintain that, without fault of their 
own, there has been an essential failure on the part of Dr. Gould to 
perform his undertaking under the agreement, so far complete as to 
amount to a breach on his part. 

But the attitude of the Council, to whom the exclusive duty of 
"supervision" for all scientific purposes was assigned, and who 
assumed that duty under the compact, in maintaining and declaring 
to the Trustees, as they have, that all Dr. Gould's duties under the 
agreement have been well, faithfully, skilfully and successfully per- 
formed, make it necessary for the Trustees in their defence, to assume 
and maintain one or both of two other positions. 

1st. They must bring against the Scientific Council, as against Dr. 
Gould, the sweeping accusation of incompetency and unfitness for 
the charge and superintendence of the Observatory, and an utter 
inability to know or decide whether Dr. Gould's duties have been 
well performed or not; or 

2d. They must take a higher and bolder ground ; that the Coun- 
cil, from whatever motive, are in a corrupt league and conspiracy 



173 

with Dr. Gould to screen him from all just censure and deficiencies, 
and to continue and secure to him and themselves the possession of 
the Observatory, for some unexplained object of their own, foreign to, 
and incompatible with, the true scientific objects for which it was 
founded, and in furtherance of which the compact between the par- 
ties was made. 

They must be prepared to maintain, one or the other, or both these 
positions, along with that of the actual failure of the Director in his 
essential duties, whether from incompetency or any other cause, by 
competent and convincing proofs. In this way alone can they sustain 
themselves, either in law, or before an intelligent public, in the right 
they have asserted to put an end to the compact, and cause the 
Director and Council to be dispossessed of the premises. 



PART SECOND 



DETAILED REFUTATION 



OF THE 



"STATEMENT OF THE TRUSTEES." 



In the previous part of this Reply I have endeavored to consider singly 
the several subjects alluded to by the Majority in their " Statement," and 
to narrate the facts bearing upon each of the points which they have used 
as the basis of attacks upon me. Knowing, not only that my motives and 
aims, from the beginning to the end of my connection with the Dudley 
Observatory, have been disinterested, — that, for the sake of saving it from 
bringing disgrace upon the American name, of becoming a reproach instead 
of an honor, and furnishing an obstacle instead of an impulse to science, 
I have deliberately made almost unparalleled sacrifices of present and future 
welfare ; — knowing that there is not an act of mine, in reference to the insti- 
tution, upon which I do not desire and earnestly ask scrutiny, — feeling 
indeed a satisfaction at what it has been my privilege to succeed in accom- 
plishing, despite impediments of which the public is now for the first time 
becoming aware, and without agency of mine, — it appeared to me desirable 
rather to present a clear narration of the simple truth, than to enter upon 
arguments or the presentation of evidence. For it has been my good for- 
tune to pursue a course which my judgement still approves in most cases; 
and I believe that my word yet passes for something, notwithstanding these 
ferocious attacks upon my character, name and repute. 

Although the true state of the case has thus been presented so far as appears 
to me requisite for showing the falsity and wanton malignity of the " State- 
ment " of the Majority, — I propose, in compliance with the advice of friends, 
to offer a Detailed Refutation of this Second Attack. And I shall there- 
fore now proceed to follow the " Statement" of the Majority, paragraph by 
paragraph, in order to show the unprincipled and shameless character of its 
assertions and insinuations. 



176 

In doing this, it will in some instances be necessary to quote from letters 
written to me by signers of this Second Attack. The character of my 
correspondence with Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, (the two members of the 
former Executive Committee,) has already been mentioned, as has the fact 
of their dishonorable employment of my private letters for base purposes. 
However thoroughly a similar course on my part might serve the purpose 
of rendering my opponents obnoxious, I cannot, of course, follow their 
example in any attempt voluntarily to employ the tokens of past confidence 
as the weapons of present treachery. Better leave every one of their 
slanders unrefuted, every one of their falsehoods unexposed, every one 
of their stratagems still masked, and trust to the unconquerable force of 
Truth ; for Truth must ultimately prevail, although the victims of deceit 
may meantime be rendered unable to profit by this ultimate triumph. I 
shall avail myself of the letters in my possession, in those cases where 
their employment is necessary or important, in order to refute the false- 
hoods of their authors, but abstain scrupulously from any use of passages 
not requisite for such disproval, or needed in the strict line of self-defence. 
The amount of control and forbearance thus imposed will readily be appre- 
ciated by all. 

1. History previous to August, 1855. 

The candid reader who will glance at the beginning of chapter IV. of 
the First Part of this Reply, and at the first four pages of the "Statement" 
of the Majority, will be able without farther investigation to form some 
idea of the character of my Accusers and of their accusations. 

I will consider some of the prominent assertions of the Accusers in 
these four pages : 

[a.) That the project of establishing an astronomical observatory in 
Albany was first suggested by Dr. Armsby in the winter of 1851 ; that 
Thomas W. Olcott was the first to promise aid and support ; and that he 
was the first to subscribe. 

The sucro-estion of an observatory has been repeatedly attributed to 
Prof. Mitchel by Dr. Armsby, publicly and privately ; — Prof. Mitchel 
having urged the project in his lectures delivered in Albany in the winter 
of 1850-51. Mr. Prentice, one of the minority, then gave a sum twice 
as iarge as Mr. Olcott, and quite as promptly. 

( b.) That in August, 1851, " the project received some slight check, 
from the discouragement of Messrs. Bache, Peirce and Henry, who, at a 
meeting at the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank, advised against the enter- 
prise." 

I am authorized to declare that the assertion that Professors Bache, 



177 

Peirce and Henry checked the enterprise in any way is entirely untrue. 
These gentlemen attended no meeting in reference to the Observatory at 
that time or place, nor were they consulted in regard to it. The meeting 
referred to was one in favor of a University, and so far from opposing, 
they gave their cordial support to the movement. It thus becomes 
unnecessary to contradict the contemptible insinuation that their support 
was withheld because Prof. Mitchel was connected with the enterprise. 
Their relations with this gentleman were of the most agreeable character ; 
and the degree of disposition of Professors Bache and Peirce to oppose 
an enterprise because conducted by him, may easily be tested by reference 
to pages 117, 118 of these Accusers' own pamphlet. 

(c.) That Prof. Mitchel's letter of 1851, July 28, was read at a "social 
gathering" at Dr. Armsby's house, 1851, July 3, and furnished the basis 
for subsequent proceedings ; — and that the progress of the enterprise was 
only checked in 1855 by Prof. Mitchel's temporary inability to remove to 
Albany. 

The want of accordance in dates is palpable at once. Every citizen 
of Albany knows, too, that the enterprise was in the summer of 1855, 
dead and stagnant, and that Professor Mitchel's indisposition to come was 
anything but a "temporary inability." See also the letter of Prof. 
Walker on pages 37, 38 of this Reply. And I have letters from Dr. 
Armsby in my possession which could be produced, if proper or necessary, 
very thoroughly disposing of the present assertion, p. 6, that 

" The Trustees, however, continued [in 1855] to receive assurances from that 
distinguished Astronomer, that, as soon as these engagements should be fulfilled, 
he would at once devote himself to the interests and objects of the Observatory." 

( d.) That " in September, 1851, Mr. Olcott procured from Mrs. Dudley 
a subscription of $10,000." 

The earnest desire of Mr. Olcott to usurp the credit of Mrs. Dudley's 
donation is manifest here, as also on page 8 of the " Statement," where he 
speaks of himself as having solicited her to give $6,000; on page 9, 
$8,000 more ; and on page 23, where he claims that he " obtained from 
Mrs. Dudley the munificent donation of $50,000." But all this is in 
striking conflict with the unmanly, indecent assault on page 93 upon this 
whole-hearted and now much-abused lady, of whom Mr. Olcott says : 

" The man who dared to invade the seclusion of this aged lady, and obtain 
her signature to this paper, a letter uncomprehended and incomprehensible, as 
it was, by her, is guilty of moral forgery." 

The double falsehood contained in the assertion will be exposed in due 

course, — I allude now to other and equally dishonorable characteristics of 

the proceeding. Either Mr. Olcott was guilty, in 1851 and 1855, of 



178 

something worse than what he calls " moral forgery," in obtaining irom 
her large sums of money ; or his endeavor to insult and distress Mrs. Dud- 
ley now, because she had called upon him to resign the trust he was 
abusing, is base beyond epithet. 

(e.) That the donations then given were bestowed at least four years before 
Mrs. Dudley, or the Trustees, had contemplated the connection of any 
scientific gentleman with the Observatory, except Prof. Mitchel. 

For the exposure of this "loose" assertion, made with an object, I 
would again refer to pages 38 and 39 of this Reply. 

(/.) That in March, 1852, when the charter was granted, the total of 
subscriptions had reached the sum of $25,000. 

It is stated by the Accusers, page 81, that " prior to the first of 
August, 1856, there had been expended, in the erection of the buildings 
contemplated by Prof. Mitchel, the sum of $22,449.98." Thus a balance 
of at least $2,550 seems to have been on hand since March, 1852, a fact 
which should be borne in mind when the hoped for investigation of the 
finances takes place. 

The ungrateful and coarse sneer, page 4, at General Van Rensselaer, 
to whose liberality and public spirit the institution is so largely indebted, 
requires no comment. 

2. Utility of Heliometer. 

No such discussion relative to " the Utility of a Heliometer " took place 
at the Providence meeting of the American Association, — as the Majority 
allege. And the suggestion of employing this instrument to triangulate 
the Pleiades is altogether too old a one, and too well known to astrono- 
mers to make the attempt to assign its paternity to Dr. C. H. F. Peters 
of any avail. It originated thirty years ago with the great astronomer 
Bessel, who carried it into execution during the eleven years between 
1829 and 1840, (Astr. Nachr. vm, 416, XVIU, 353,) and it had been 
renewed by Walker, in a published report on the subject to the Superin- 
tendent of the Coast Survey. Whatever allusions may have been made 
to this instrument were essentially collateral and incidental, and only 
affected the Observatory project by affording a favorable opportunity to Dr. 
Armsby, who had visited Providence for the purpose of enlisting the sup- 
port of the gentlemen who were a fortnight later elected as the Scientific 
Council of the Observatory. 

3. Professor B 'ache 1 's proposition of August, 1855. 

The statement on page 7, that Prof. Bache proposed that the citizens 
of Albany should prorida a Heliometer, is without foundation in fact. The 



179 

proposition was Dr. Armsby's, and was not accepted by Prof. Bache until the 
proposer had (untruly as he now declares) alleged that he had the indorse- 
ment of Hon. J. V. L. Pruyn for the feasibility of the undertaking. This 
transaction is fully set forth on page 40 of this Reply. Dr. Armsby 
wrote, 1855, September 15, thus: 

" We appreciate most highly the generous offers of aid from Professor Badie, 
and we trust that neither Prof. B., nor his distinguished associates will ever have 
cause to regret their connection with our Institution." 

4. Quotation on page 7. 

This being the first extract in the book from anything written or said 
by me, is necessarily the first specimen of garbling. It is taken from 
p. 26 of the Inauguration pamphlet ; but the specimen is not a very impor- 
tant one. The words omitted from the middle of the sentence are these : 

" on learning that a Heliometer was the instrument most appropriate for the 
class of observations required," 

the palpable motive of the omission being to avoid the discrepancy which 
it would manifest with the assertion, ten lines previous, that the proposi- 
tion of the arrangement came from Professor Bache. 

The anxiety of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, here as on pages 25, 26 
and 27, to reprint whatever words of compliment to them I may have 
uttered, before their true characters became known to me, is characteristic. 

5. Magnanimous withdrawal of Prof. Mitchel. 

The assertions of the Accusers on page 7 are so diametrically opposed to all 
the declarations of Dr. Armsby at the time, and present the whole of the 
relations with Prof. Mitchel in so different a light, that it seems necessary 
to enter upon a subject which would otherwise have been passed over in 
silence. The insinuation that I could thus have stepped between Prof. 
Mitchel and the direction of an institution which he had planted and fos- 
tered, and which was about to blossom, is as false as it is insulting. Dr. 
Armsby then stated, what I still believe to be correct, that Prof. Mitchel 
was unwilling to identify himself longer with the institution ; that his 
interests and tastes were diverted into other channels ; and that he had 
severed every connection which ever existed between himself and the 
Observatory. Dr. Armsby also stated, — what I also believe to have been 
correct, — that the institution threatened to be a disastrous -and melancholy 
failure ; he said that every dollar which had been subscribed had been expen- 
ded in a mere building, as yet far from being adapted to Observatory pur- 
poses ; and that it would only by some vigorous effort be possible, to 
prevent past expenditures from being worse than wasted. Such an effort 
he appealed to Professors Bache, Peirce, and myself to make, and we 



180 

responded to the best of _our several powers, upon the condition that 
inadequate beginning should be attempted. 

And yet, on page 45, these Accusers now allege that — when, in October, 
1857, the requisite endowment being far from complete, the Council were 
indisposed to commence the immediate activity of the Observatory : — 

'The Trustees' "thought of the fact that Prof. Mitchel had designed com- 
mencing practical operations at the Institution with $ 25,000, which he had 
declared enough for a useful beginning." 

This is a foolish falsification. Prof. Mitchel never designed or proposed 
to commence operations with $25,000 expended in a building, without any 
instruments, or a dollar in funds. 

And on page 81, they say: 

"From the time Prof. Mitchel magnanimously yielded his position in the 
Observatory to Dr. Gould, &c, &c." 

It thus becomes necessary for me to quote one or two passages from 

letters between myself and Dr. Armsby, — which would otherwise, of 

course, have been omitted. They are by no means all that might be 

quoted, but they will suffice. 

From a Utter of Dr. Armsby, 1856, April 19. 

" I was sorry I did not see you again before leaving New York, and beg you 
will pardon me for troubling you with the invitations, and the foolish twaddle 
of Mitchel. ... I should never have thought of consulting him in this 
matter, nor have invited him to take part in the inauguration, had it not been 

suggested by your remark when you were last in Albany And 

when I showed you his unkind letter to me, you may remember you remarked 
" he must be set right or conciliated." . . I shall give myself no farther 
trouble to conciliate him. He feels deeply chagrined at the interest now taken 
in the Dudley Observatory, and mortified by the neglect with which he is 
received by Albanians. His foolish remarks have destroyed all the influence 
he might have had, and now every one here says we are fortunate in getting 
rid of Mitchel." 

From a Utter of Dr. Armsby, 1857, April 20. 

<c Mitchel, by his foolish remarks, has lost all his friends in Albany. There 
was always a suspicion of him in regard to ingenuousness, and even sound 
learning; and now the Trustees feel a relief that we are free from all obligation 
on his account." 

From a Utter of Dr. Armsby, 1856, May 14. 

"My error in writing to Mitchel, . . . was not my own, and I now 
regret it, as I do most truly having had anything to do with the matter." 

Up to this time I had refrained from any reply to these continued com- 
plaints, in which I did not sympathize, regarding Professor Mitchel, but 
in the copy of a letter written by me to Dr. Armsby, 1856, May 15, I 
find the following sentence : 

" As for Mitchel, let him go. He feels hurt and vexed with himself as well 
as others; and we do not know what private griefs and troubles he may have, 
to make him feel captious and irritable." 



181 

Later than this date I find in my own letters no noticeable allusion to 
Prof. Mitchel, — a gentleman for whom I have always entertained the 
kindest regards, which have prevented me from responding to the abundant 
oral and written tirades against him of more than one of the signers of the 
4 'Statement." 

But in a subsequent letter from Dr. Armsby, 1856, July 20, he says : 

" Prof. Mitchel spoke .... in the highest terms of our Observatory, 
and its organization and prospects. I think he still hopes for an invitation to take 

part in our inauguration, and would be delighted to do so But he 

does not deserve it." 

Dr. Armsby's history of the Observatory in Munsell's Annals, (pub- 
lished in the autumn of 1856,) contains no allusion whatever to Prof. 
Mitchel — not even mentioning his name ! 

6. Appointment of the Scientific Council, pp. 8, 9. 

The time and manner of the appointment of the Scientific Council has 
already been spoken of in Chapter IV of Part First, pp. 44, 45, and need 
not be recapitulated here. The bad faith of the Authors of the " State- 
ment " will be obvious to any one who will read with care their paragraph 
relating to the appointment. The fact of the election of the Scientific 
Council, Sept. 3, 1855, is kept in the back-ground, quite as much as is 
consistent with the subsequent pretended "ratification" of their alleged 
" informal election." 

The Trustees withdrew into an adjoining room ; remained in private 
session ; then re-appeared ; the Secretary announced the election of the four 
members, Professors Bache, Henry, Peirce and myself as the Scientific 
Council ; and he subsequently exhibited to me the formal record of the same 
in the Record Book of the Board of Trustees. " The name of the late Dr. 
Beck was" not "added at the same time ;" but some time later, when I 
was regularly notified of it by Dr. Armsby. 

The remark about Commander Davis is another of the numerous attempts 
of the Accusers . to engender ill-feeling wherever possible, — and is essen- 
tially false. This gentleman bekig a near relative of Prof. Peirce, the 
apparent opportunity for creating feeling appeared altogether too good to 
be lost. ' My relations with Captain Davis, at the time, were not cordial, 
and it is very possible that I may have mentioned this privately to Dr. 
Armsby ; but that I procured his name to be stricken from the list is 
untrue, as also is the assertion that I made any allusion to our personal 
relations prior to the election of the Council. It will not be forgotten that 
this election, too, was made on the very first occasion that I met any one 
of the Trustees, excepting Dr. Armsby, whom, moreover, I had only seen 



182 

in the short interviews at Providence. Prof. Henry accompanied me to 
Albany on this occasion ; it is his native city ; he addressed the meeting 
of Trustees and citizens ; his scientific eminence and high station rendered 
his support to this enterprise most welcome ; and the assertion that his 
name was substituted for that of Commander Davis, because I had caused 
the name of the latter to be " stricken from the list," — which list I had 
never seen, if indeed it existed, — is puerile. I had nothing to say regard- 
ing Commander Davis's name, either as to its addition or omission. 

The statement that Prof. Peirce recommended an " advisory council," is 
untrue. One of the main conditions of the support promised the institution 
by us, was that its scientific guidance should be under the direction of 
scientific men. So, too, is the idea attributed (also untruthfully) to Pro- 
fessor Peirce, that the members of the Council " should be associated with 
the Board of Trustees !" 

7. Functions of the Scientific Council. 

Despite the strenuous efforts made throughout the Accusers' book to 

represent the functions of the Scientific Council as being " advisory " to 

the gentlemen who constitute the Board of Trustees ; — despite the first 

resolution of 1858, January 19, in which the Council are said to have been 

informally elected and to have acted " as the Scientific Council of this 

Board," not as that " of the Observatory;" — despite the falsification of 

the second resolution of the same date by the author of the pamphlet, 

who has changed the words " as a Scientific Council" into " as such 

Scientific Council ; — the distinct agreement from the day of the election 

in September, 1855, up to the day in December, 1857, when " the 

Observatory, under the supervision of the Scientific Council" was placed 

in my charge, was this : That the scientific control was to be exclusively 

with the Scientific Council, and the financial control of course exclusively 

with the Trustees. In this connection I beg to present the following 

extracts from letters and publications. The first is an extract from the 

remarks of Prof. Henry, made in the presence of Mr. Olcott, before the 

Board of Underwriters, in the city of«New York, 1856, Nov. 19, and, 

when taken in connection with the following letters, will serve to show 

the close connection, good understanding, and warm feeling, of the parties 

at that time : 

"The Trustees of the Dudley Observatory have honored Professors Bache, 
Peirce, Dr. Gould, and myself, with the office of Scientific Councillors of that 
institution ; and, as it is the principal business of our lives to assist in the 
advance of knowledge, we shall cheerfully give a portion of our time and 
thoughts as our offering to the noble enterprise so energetically, liberally, and 
successfully commenced at the capital of this State." 

" I may say, in addition to the remarks made by Prof. Bache respecting the 
character of the Dudley Observatory, that it is not the design of its Councillors 



183 

that its operations shall be confined exclusively to the heavenly bodies, but 
that also investigations shall be instituted which pertain more particularly to 
our globe." 

These remarks were published, together with remarks by Prof. Bache, 
and resolutions of the Board of Underwriters commending the Dudley 
Observatory to the citizens of New York, in a pamphlet extensively 
circulated in that city for the purpose of stimulating subscriptions. This 
pamphlet was prefaced by the following letter signed " Thomas W. Olcott," 
and dated Albany, December, 1856 : 

" The Trustees of this Institution earnestly invite your attention to the sub- 
joined documents. They show that the enterprise, though of particular interest 
to the city of New York, is yet national in its aims and character, and that the 
Trustees may with propriety appeal to the enlightened and the liberal of our 
fellow-citizens, from the emporium to the circumference of our country, for aid 
and co-operation. Professors Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution; Bache, 
of the Coast Survey; Peirce and Dr. Gould, of Cambridge, — compose the 
Scientific Council; and they pledge their reputations for the scientific success 
of the Observatory, provided it is suitably endowed. 

" These distinguished scientific gentlemen are laboring for this Institution from 
the most exalted devotion to the science and honor of their country, and with a 
disinterestedness which has deprived the Trustees of the pleasure of even reim- 
bursing them their actual traveling expenses when engaged exclusively on 
business of the Observatory." 

At the same expedition to raise funds in New York, it was stated in 
all cases, to all persons to whom applications were made for subscription, 
that these four gentlemen were the Scientific Council of the Observatory, 
and were to have charge of all the scientific operations. Indeed, they were 
introduced as such ; and it is no flight of imagination to believe that the 
money was principally obtained through such assurances. 

Mr. Olcott, writing to Prof. Bache, 1855, August 27, says: 

"Dr. Armsby has informed me of the arrangement between you and him 
concerning our Observatory, the particulars of which he says he expects from 
you, repeated in a letter, to be used by him as a basis for carrying out his part 
of the arrangement. I immediately imparted my delight to Mrs. Dudley, who 
has already advanced twelve thousand dollars towards the building; and she 
was so much pleased, that she placed in my hands at once a check for six thou- 
sand dollars, to be sent to you for the purchase of the Heliometer the moment 
your letter is received." 

Again, in a letter to Prof. Bache, 1855, Aug. 30 : 

"I write now to say that the six thousand dollars are at your command, 
and that you may draw on me at sight; or I will remit the money when and 
where you may indicate. Permit me to assure you that our citizens will 
organize the association in a way to give the most entire satisfaction to the gifted 
individuals to whom we look to direct its operations; and our measure of 
rejoicing will be full when we are assured of the willingness of Dr. Gould to 
become a resident of our city. We intend to write that gentleman, giving him 
a welcome to our hospitalities, and assurances of our humble but cordial co- 
operation in his lofty and noble pursuits." 

Again, Mr. Olcott, under date of 1855, Sept. 3, sends a copy of a let- 
ter received by him from Mrs. Dudley, which says: 



184 

" I notice, in the published correspondence concerning the instrument which 
Prof. Peirce is pleased, in his address, to name the Dudley Heliometer, that he 
says ' that it cannot be of inferior construction, but must be a masterpiece of 
art; ' and that Prof. Bache says that he has not been able to ascertain the cost, 
but supposes it will not much exceed six thousand dollars. I therefore infer 
that the cost may exceed that sum; and you will oblige me by saying to Prof. 
Bache, that I hold myself responsible for one or two thousand dollars more, if 
necessary; and I hope he will do credit to science, himself and the donor, in 
securing an instrument superior, if possible, to any in existence." 

A letter from Dr. Armsby, dated Albany, 1855, Aug. 27, states: 

" The six thousand dollars, which I promised you for the Heliometer, is 
now on deposit at the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of this city, subject to 
your order!" 

This arrangement was subsequently changed ; and I was induced to go 

to Europe to purchase instruments and to examine mechanical workshops. 

Dr. Armsby also, writing, 1856, Aug. 28, says : 

"I can promise you confidently, when we have once started, all the future 

aid you my desire When the Observatory is once started under 

your direction, Mrs Dudley will be much more likely to give $50,000 or 
$100,000 to endow it, than she was to give what she has already done;" 

and then goes on to discuss the relations of different parties in Albany in 

a way which I refrain from presenting to the public. 

Mr. Olcott to Dr. Gould, 1856, Nov. 24 : 

" We have just returned from New York. . . . Professors Bache and 
Henry were active and efficient. They argued for two days before the Board of 
Underwriters, which secured us their unanimous commendation to the mer- 
cantile community." 

Mr. Olcott to Dr. Gould, 1857, Oct. 1 : 

"All we have done and are doing is for American science, and we are dis- 
posed to be governed altogether by our Scientific Council. We have unbounded 
confidence in them in every thing, and we wish them to consider us a humble 
instrument in their hands in carrying forward this great enterprise. We have 
not a personal object or interest in this matter. We are willing to sink or swim 
with a Henry, a Peirce, a Bache, and a Gould, as the only chance of immortal- 
izing ourselves in this world. Therefore we submit this question to your 
decision." 

Mr. Olcott to Dr. Gould, 1857, Nov. 9 : 

" Whatever our Scientific Council decide upon in relation to the Observatory, 
we shall deem the best. . . . We here feel ourselves to be subordinate 
agencies; and do not consider our reputations at stake, or in any way pledged, 
except to our Scientific Council. For all our pledges to them, and as much 
farther as our ability will allow, we stand committed. Fortunately for us 
and the cause of science, our services end here." 

Mr. Olcott to Prof. Bache, 1857, Nov. 23 : 

" I am not, my dear Sir, unmindful of the humble position which I occupy 

in this great scientific enterprise I certainly was willing to 

co-operate with distinguished scientific men, and was proud to enlist as a sub- 
ordinate under your banners. It might never have been revived from the tomb 

of its repose but through your inspirations I regard our success, 

so far, as transcending our most sanguine hopes at the beginning. The ser- 
vices rendered by Prof. Henry and yourself in New York enabled us to gain a 
footing there, and your identification with the enterjfrise has given it a passport 
to the confidence and regards of the nation." 



185 

Mr.'Olcott to Prof Bache, 1857, Dec. 19 : 

"If driven from our association with you, we shall Le upon the ocean with- 
out a star to guide, or*compass to direct our course; and we have no idea 
where, in such an event, we should land. ... If permitted to lahor with 
our present Scientific Council, we shall not cease in our efforts until the Dudley- 
Observatory is elevated to a position to do credit to our country, and to the 
•scientific men who have identified their names with the Institution." 

Mr. Olcott to Prof. Henry, 1858, Jan. 23: 

"I am sorry that we can be supposed capable of disappointing the expecta- 
tions which we authorized you to indulge, and which our honor is concerned 
in maintaining.' ' 

It is not surprising, that, thus stimulated by high-sounding words, the 
Council imagined Mr. Olcott to be a second Lorenzo, and that, in lan- 
guage glowing with praise and compliments, they showed their awakened 
enthusiasm in the noble cause of which he was then the champion ; but 
it must be admitted that the Council are now heartily ashamed of the 
round sentences with which their replies abound, and which the gentlemen 
eulogised have taken such pleasure in quoting. 

During my visit to Europe, in 1855., Dr. Armsby proposed that an 
invitation to foreign astronomers to attend the Inauguration should be 
issued, — not by the Trustees, but by the Scientific Council. He wrote, 
1855, Nov. 6, as follows : 

" Would it not be well to give a special and additional invitation to astrono- 
mers to attend the Inauguration of the Observatory, — in the name of the 
Scientific Council ? Although it would be superfluous so far as the invitation 
goes, it would let them know what is doing, and who are to be connected with 
the Institution." 

8. Mrs. Dudley's Subscription for the Heliometer* 

It is alleged by the Accusers, page 9, that 

" About the same time, in order that the Heliometer might be the largest and 
best instrument of its kind in the world, Mrs. Dudley, at the solicitation of Mr. 
Olcott, as before, increased her subscription to $14,000." 

The circumstances of the case have already been fully, and as I trust 
clearly, set forth in my remarks at the Inauguration. The gift of Mrs. 
Dudley was " $6,000, or more if needed." She gave Mr. Olcott, 1855, 
August 24, a check for $6,000 ; and, as I am now informed, a second check 
for $2,000 on the 21st of September, 1855, for the same object. When, 
after my return from Europe, the construction of this instrument had, in 
January, 1856, been awarded to Mr. Spencer, he was requested by me to 
prepare estimates for instruments of different dimensions and to submit 
them to Mrs. Dudley. Accordingly he immediately prepared and (Jan. 17) 
submitted these estimates. Mrs. Dudley selected the largest size, (ten 
inches aperture,) although its price was $14,500, and, as I am informed, 
13 



186 

gave Mr. Olcott, 1856, January 19, a third check for $6,500, making the 
total amount, given by her, $14,500, exclusive of interest. 

In a letter from Dr. Armsby, written 1856, November 6, is the follow- 
ing passage : 

" Mr. Olcott has done another noble deed that I must repeat to you. He has 
had the Heliometer fund in his hands and loaned portions until the interest on 
it amounted to $500, and added it to the rest when he paid it over to the 
Treasurer of the Observatory. " 

Up to 1856, November 1, the accrued interest upon this fund would, 
by the laws of the State, have amounted not to $500, but to more than 
$1,000 ! This is a comparatively small matter,, however, and chiefly 
important in connection with another strange circumstance. 

In my remarks at the inauguration, I had said (p. 31) : 

" Mrs. Dudley who had so munificently raised her $6000 to $8000, has now 
raised the $8000 to $14,500." 

The authors of the "■ Statement/* in quoting this, on page 26, print 
$14,000 instead of $14,500. And again, on page 9, m the passage cited 
at the beginning of this article, they say : 

"Mrs. Dudley, at the solicitation of Mr. Olcott, as before, increased her sub- 
scription to $14,000." 

In Mr. Olcott's Manifesto he also states that this sum was $14,000 ; and 
in the second, or garbled, edition of the Inauguration-pamphlet, issued 
unknown to the Council and donors in June last, the same change is made 
(on page 22); thus diminishing the total of Mrs. Dudley's gift, instead of 
increasing it. Similar diminutions of amount are made in other places. 
In the same second edition of the Inauguration-pamphlet, Mrs. Dudley's 
donations, previous to the large sum towards the endowment, are given in 
the column of sums received, as amounting to $26,500, when they were in 
fact $27,500, — and so with regard to other donors. But I consider the 
full exposure of such points as these, as being out of my province, — and 
desire only in this Part of my Reply to show the falsehood and decep- 
tion which pervade almost every line of the "Statement" of the Major- 
ity, — in order that no assertion of any one of its responsible authors, or 
certificate of its signers, may at any time be received as impeaching any 
man's good name for uprightness, truth, or discretion. 

9. The purchase of the Meridian-Circle, 
The " Statement*' says, page 9: 

" Mr. Olcott also authorized the purchase of a Meridian-Circle, to cost 

$5000." 



187 

The words " authorized the purchase " are ambiguous. In the sense 
that Mr. Olcott, as the financial manager of the affairs of the Observatory, 
authorized the purchase, the assertion is correct. In the sense in which 
these identical words are used twice again, in immediate connection, and 
within the next six lines, denoting that the one who "authorized the pur- 
chase" was to give the purchase money, the assertion is false. 

This point, like the one in § 8, acquires significance when taken in con- 
nection with other statements of the same Trustees, thus : 

In Munsell's Annals of Albany, vol. vn, is a long notice of the Dudley 
Observatory, prepared and furnished, as I learn from the very best autho- 
rity, by Dr. Armsby, the Secretary of the Board. He says in it : 

" Mr. Olcott contributed $5000 for the Olcott Meridian Circle." 

In the second edition of the Inauguration-pamphlet, my remarks on this 
subject are also mutilated. 

On page 27 of the genuine edition will be found my words : 

" Two other gentlemen, through Thomas W. Olcott, Esq., became responsible 
for a Meridian Circle to be provided without any limitation as to expense;" 

but on page 19 of the spurious edition, published by the Board in June, 
1858, the sentence is printed without the four words which I have italicised ! 
On page 155 of the " Statement," this same Mr. Olcott, — not content 
with so much done towards claiming the credit of giving an instrument, 
for which he had not contributed a dime, — prints the following sentence 
in the letter which he procured from Dr. Brunnow, of Ann Arbor : 

" The Olcott Meridian Circle, (for this name has been given to the instrument 
in honor of its genebods donor," &c ! 

The typography is mine, 

10. The Name of the Meridian-Circle. 
As regards the name, I will present a few quotations from the letters of 
Dr. Armsby: 

Sept. 1855. "The Meridian Circle must be called the Olcott Instrument. 
You may give the order to have it so named or lettered, and without mentioning 
this fact in your letters. Let it be a surprise to him when finished. Whoever 
may furnish the funds, we all agree as to the name." 

Sept. 1855. " On the Meridian Circle I would have Thomas W. Olcott con- 
spicuously engraved." 

Nov. 1855. " The Olcott Meridian Circle must be worthy of its name. There 
are but few such men as Mr. Olcott! " 

June, 1856. " The Olcott Meridian Circle must be the name. . . . Let 
the name be in as large letters as consistent with good taste." 

My letter from which a garbled extract is given in the " Statement," on 
page 20, was in reference to this ! 

In compliance with the application of Dr. Armsby, the Scientific Coun- 
cil recommended the giving of this name ; and at his instance, also, I made 



188 

a public announcement of the fact, alluding to Mr. Olcott in language 
which I wish he had better deserved, — although I am by no means the 
only person who has been thus deluded and deceived. 

11. Mr. Coming's Subscription. 

Few and perhaps none of the circumstances connected with the Observa- 
tory have been made the subject of more elaborate and complex misrepre- 
sentation, than those relating to the Corning Clock. 

The facts relative to Mr. Coming's gift, (for this gentleman, like Mrs. 
Dudley, General Yan Rensselaer, the Scientific Council, Mr. Pruyn and 
others, has been scandalously insulted in the " Statement," in reference 
to his generosity to the institution,) have been concisely and clearly given 
by him in his published letter to Mr. Thacher, and are briefly as follows : 

At the outset of the Observatory enterprise, Mr. Corning being appealed to 
for contribution, and informed that $25,000 were needed, and that $5000 could 
be obtained in comparatively small amounts, agreed to give $1000, on condi- 
tion that nineteen others should each do the same. His chief motive in attaching 
this condition was, that, knowing the persons who sought to identify themselves 
publicly with the movement, he felt the importance of throwing some such guard 
around the treasury and of insuring the interest and oversight which a fulfil- 
ment of this condition would tend to create. The condition was never fulfilled; 
but at a later date, at the request of Dr. Armsby, Mr. Corning agreed to transfer 
this conditional subscription into a subscription for the normal clock; to be 
paid for when it should be finished and placed in the Observatory. 

The clock was ordered by me of Krille, in Altona, at the close of October, 
1855; and the maker promised that it should be completed in May, 1856, — it 
is not yet received, owing to circumstances be3?ond my control, and in spite of 
my urgent and reiterated efforts. When it arrives the money will be paid. 

Some of these facts have but recently come to my knowledge, for Dr. 
Armsby — knowing that the cost of the normal clock would be much less 
than $1,000, although this sum was named to Mr. Corning by him, — had 
represented to me that the object of the donation was " to supply the Obser- 
vatory with time," i. e. to provide clocks for mean and for sidereal time, 
and dials so far as possible. Accordingly, in my remarks at the Inaugu- 
ration, I said, 

" The Hon. Erastus Corning, of this city, subscribed $1000 for providing the 
Observatory with time." (p. 27.) 

The Majority now [p. 11] accuse Mr. Corning of " repudiation," because 
the first subscription was not paid ; and as a double fling at him and 
myself, they venomously add : 

"The Trustees have now but little reason to hope that the Corning Clock, 
or either of the Corning subscriptions will ever be received." 

Even so early as in the summer of 1855, Dr. Armsby had placed below 
the large marble dial for mean time, then in the Observatory, a tablet 
bearing the words : " The Gift of Erastus Corning." [See Inaug. Pam- 
phlet, page 29.] 



189 

And in August, 1857, Dr. Armsby wrote to mc that he had applied to 
Mr. Corning for still another $1000, to pay the entire expense of all the 
dials, chronographs, &c, and added: 

"Mr. Corning says his $1,000 will be ready when the clock arrives, but the 
$1,000 for the setting up, &c, he must think of before he decides. I am still 
hopeful in regard to the future funds." 

In the notice of the Observatory in Vol. VII. of Munscll's Annals, 

prepared and furnished by Dr. Armsby, as already stated, occur these 

words : 

"In a niche on the right is the celebrated clock presented by the Hon. 
Erastus Corning, for giving time to the Central and other railroads diverging 
from Albany!" 

And finally, in the spurious edition of the Inauguration pamphlet, page 
98, it is said, (June, 1858). 

" The Corning Clock was ordered by Dr. Gould, in Altona, in 1855. It 
will cost $1,000. lion. Erastus Corning has agreed to pay for it when com- 
pleted." 

These accounts by the Majority are certainly not consistent with one 
another ! The incorrect assertion that the sidereal clock would cost $1000 
was quite gratuitous, and needless even for the Accusers' purpose, which 
was to represent thi3 Normal Clock as the one to which the name " Corn- 
ing" is applied. And it is inconsistent with the declaration on the tablet 
that the Corning clock is also the gift of the citizen whose name it bears ; 
since, if the $1,C00 was consumed in buying the one, it could not be 
applicable to the purchase of the other. But in one point, and one only, 
they are accordant. They contradict the present pretence of their authors 
that Mr. Corning is likely to " repudiate " this subscription. 

12. The Expedition to Europe. 

For some unexplained reason, probably in order to make my connection 
with the Observatory appear the result of some officiousness on my part, 
the assertion of the Manifesto, already contradicted by the Scientific 
Council in the "Defence," §2, is repeated in the "Statement," pages 
9 and 154. 

Not only did I not "offer to sail forthwith to Europe" to " secure" 
instruments for the Observatory, but I went at the urgent entreaty of 
Mr. Olcott and Dr. Armsby, the gentlemen who now assert the reverse. 
The expedition entailed an amount of back-work on my return, under 
which, added to the new labors in behalf of the Dudley Observatory, my 
health became much impaired. The voyage was undertaken in fulfilment 
of a promise made upon what I supposed an impossible condition, — the 
assent of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, — an assent in no man- 



190 

ner solicited by me. This expedition, like all my other labors for the 
institution, was unrecompensed by remuneration, or in the end, even by 
gratitude, — however my expectations of the latter reward might have 
been excited by protestations like those in the following passages from 
letters addressed me by Dr. Armsby : 

1855, Sept. 15. " Your highly satisfactory letters of the 11th inst. came to 
hand last evening, and I am rejoiced to learn that both Prof. Bache and your- 
self respond so promptly and cordially to our wishes in regard to your pro- 
posed expedition to Europe We trust that neither Prof. B. or his 

distinguished associates will ever have cause to regret their connection with our 
institution." 

1856, Jan. 30. " I will never lose sight of the Observatory, nor forget your 
toils and labors in its behalf." 

The assertion on page 10, that by " positive assurances and promises " 

I induced the " the Trustees" to believe that "the instruments could all 

be landed in Albany before the first day of August, 1856," is a deliberate 

misstatement. Far from giving any such promises, I expressed my strong 

convictions to the contrary ; and only changed my mind in any degree 

when, after arriving in Europe, I had executed contracts for the Circle and 

Transit, which would be annulled by the failure to complete them in due 

time. 

13. European Expenses. 

Few things could be more contemptible than the attempt, on page 11, 
to sneer at my " account of expenses " on the European journey. Nothing 
could be more contemptible than basing such an attempt on wilful false- 
hood. And any farther possible baseness is supplied by the fact that this 
was done in the face of the real facts, as stated by the Council in §2 of the 
" Defence." The " Statement " of the Accusers, says : 

"His account of expenses was rendered and immediately audited and allowed. 
It is but justice to state that these expenses were commendably moderate, 
being scarcely one hundred dollars more than the expenses of Mr. Gavit, or 
Mr. Spencer, who afterwards spent the same time in Europe, and traveled over 
the same ground, at the charge of the Trustees." 

Will it be credited that no account of expenses was ever brought in by 
either of these gentlemen, or desired of them ; that the definite sum, of 
$750 each, as the allowance, was placed in their hands before leaving 
home; that my accounts were never audited, although I requested it; that 
their total was £144 35. Id., or less than the sum dlowed Messrs. Spen- 
cer and G-avit, and which did not suffice them ;* that this amount was not 
so much as one-half of my real expenses, but was my estimate of the 
minimum for which the journey could have been made, excluding all luxu- 
ries and all visits to places where my presence was not necessary for 

* See Appendix F. 



191 

Observatory purposes ? Yet all this is true. I would be willing that my 
Accusers should be judged from this one accusation, — furnishing, as it 
'does, an example of littleness, ingratitude, untruthfulness and vulgarity 
all combined. 

14. Proposition to N. Y. Central Railroad. 

It is stated by the Accusers (p. 12) that I addressed a letter to the 
Directors of this Company, signed by myself and Prof. Bache, and offer- 
ing to furnish the road with time for $1,500 a year ; that the Directors 
at once accepted the offer, — and that my "performance of engagement" 
would have secured this fifteen hundred dollars as an income to the 
Observatory. 

Each of these assertions is untrue,— and the alleged quotation given from 
the letter, in order to enforce them, is thoroughly garbled. Of the fifty- 
four words in the sentence as quoted, only forty-five were in the original, 
nine words having been inserted by the Accusers, as well as five words 
stricken out. I will not dwell, however, upon this, but will simply state 
the facts. 

The letter was signed by General Van Rensselaer, as President of the 
Trustees, and by myself as Secretary of the Council ; — it asked $1000 as 
remuneration ; it proposed to transmit M the exact time of the Corning 
Clock," — (this name, by which the mean-time clock is designated whenever 
alluded to, is here carefully omitted by the Accusers;) and when the meet- 
ing of the Directors was held, after my departure for New Orleans, Prof. 
Bache attended to explain 'and commend the proposition. It was referred 
to a committee with power. The delays of the work at the Observatory 
were so great during the summer, (1856,) that Mr. Olcott advised me to 
-delay any action in the premises until the Corning clock should be in 
place; — hoping that the New York Common Council would meanwhile 
•accept the offer made to that city at the same time, — a hope which was not 
fulfilled. The Corning clock being put up previous to the Inauguration, — 
my next visit to Albany after that event, was improved to confer with the 
Chairman of the Eailroad Committee, who authorized me to have two dials 
constructed for automatic regulation by telegraphic signals. The order waa 
.given by me within two days ; — and the details carefully discussed with Mr. 
Farmer. The construction of these automatic dials was delayed, not only 
by the circumstances alluded to on page 155, Part First, (Chapter VI, 
$ 12) ; but by numerous technical difficulties of construction, all which 
were finally surmounted by long experiments, (not at the expense of the 
Trustees) and the dials were received a few weeks after my removal to 



192 

Albany. These, together with the signal-giving apparatus, were among 
the clocks, for procuring which I was so violently attached by Mr. Olcott ; 
who, in the Manifesto adopted by the Majority, pronounced them " us'eless 
only as toys for the entertainment of his [my] juvenile companions and of 
visiters." So that he has attacked me — both for providing them, and for 
omitting to provide them. Farther information concerning them may be 
found in the Chapter on " Clocks and Time-Signals, " already cited. 

15. Time for New York City. 

The matter of the offer to New York (p. 13) is even more thoroughly 
falsified than that of the Central Railroad offer. The letter from which the 
alleged quotation is made was addressed to the Mayor, and transmitted by 
him to the Common Council, with a recommendation that the offer be 
accepted. It may be found in the principal New York newspapers of Feb, 
14. To a very garbled extract the Accusers prefix the words " Br. Gould 
said ;" whereas the letter was signed by Stephen Yan Rensselaer,- Presi- 
dent, Thomas W. Olcott, Vice President, A. D. Bache and B. A. Gould, 
Jr., for the Scientific Council. 

It is true that I wrote the letter, but it is also true that, were there any- 
thing wrong about it, Mr. Olcott would be quite as responsible as myself. 
But there was nothing wrong. The proposition was a very liberal one } 
v j z . — to send the time-signals gratuitously, if New York would provide and 
undertake the necessary means ; and these means were : in the first place 
the telegraph wire, — provided the exclusive use of some existing one could 
not be obtained for certain hours daily ; and, in the second, some appara- 
tus for exhibiting the signals to the shipping, — an end attained in Green- 
wich by the dropping of a ball, and for which I recommended the falling of 
four arms from a vertical to a horizontal position. The expense of a special 
wire to New York was incorporated into the estimates when the plan was 
discussed with Mr. Olcott in January, 1856, although the contrary is alleged 
in the scandalous misrepresentation of the Accusers on page 34 of the 
pamphlet, — and the original paper containing figures of which he will not 
venture to dispute the authenticity is still in existence. 

Strong efforts were made by my friends, and especially Messrs. Swan, of 

the Common Council, and George W. Blunt, to induce the City to accept 

this proposal, but unsuccessfully. A falsehood on page 19, in this connec- 

ion, is used to create, if possible, unkind feelings between myself and Mr. 

Blunt, — as have been also garbled extracts from letters, privately transmit- 

ed to him since; — though happily without success. 

I append the extract as garbled by the Accusers side by side with tie 
rrect version. 



193 

From the " Statement of the Trustees," From the Liter to the. Mayor of New 
page 13. York, signed by Gen. Van Rensse- 

And at the same time, in a letter to ^ ( P ™ iden J > Mr \ 0lcott > S ? 

President) and countersigned by 
the Mayor of New York, Dr. Gould p r0 ^ /iac/ie and mysd j in Mu[1 f f 

said: the Scientific Council. 

Albany, January 22, 1850. 

"The Trustees of the Dudley Ob- " The great commercial port of New 
servatory, which has been erected in York not merely has no precise time- 
Albany, and is to commence its activity signal for the regulation of chronome- 
in August next, (1856) beg leave to ters, but is dependent upon private 
express to your Honor, the pleasure resources for knowledge of the time by 
it will afford them to furnish the city which its clocks are to be regulated. 
of New York with accurate time. The Trustees of the Dudley Ob- 

Should the proposal meet your appro- servatory, which has been erected in 
bation, it would be our pride and the city of Albany, and is to commence 
pleasure, from and after the day of its activity in August next, are earn- 
the Inauguration of the Dudley Obser- estly desirous of renderingits scientific 
vatory, to give accurate time to your investigations as serviceable as may be 
city, within the fraction of a second, to the commercial and material in- 
by the dropping of a time ball." terests of the State. And they beg 

leave to express to your Honor, the 
pleasure which it will afford them to furnish the city of New York with 
accurate time. 

For this purpose we have the pleasure of offering to give the time, accu- 
rate to the tenth of a second, to the shipping in the harbor of New York, 
by dropping a large, conspicuous ball or giving some equivalent signal in 
one or more positions in the city; and secondly to regulate any three clocks 
which the city government may see fit to select, by means of the same tele- 
graphic circuit. 

The necessary annual expense will be confined to the small sum needed 
for the care of the apparatus half an hour daily, and for the renewal of the 
batteries from time to time. The Observatory asks for no remuneration, 
and the requisite apparatus will be far from costly. Should this proposal 
meet with your approbation and be acceptable to the authorities of the city 
of New York, it will be our pride and pleasure to contribute our share 
towards putting the plan into operation from and after the day of Inauguration 
of the Dudley Observatory in August next." 

The motive of the mutilation is evident. The proposal was conditional, 
and the condition was never fulfilled. But the Accusers omit whatever 
alludes to the conditions, and supply language of their own to fill out the 
sentences. 

16. Expectations of the Trustees, 

Nearly a page is devoted by the Accusers to a description of the " false 
hopes " on which I had fed " the Trustees," and the broken promises with 
which I had deceived them. This is a favorite theme with Mr. Olcott 
and his coadjutors, for it conveys the Idea of long suffering, until forbear- 
ance was no longer endurable. How much truth there may be in this 
oft-repeated and still oftener implied assertion, will be understood by 
those whose love of Justice may prompt, and whose patience may permit, 
them to read one-half of this exposure of the long catalogue of infamous. 



194 

Sagrant and malicious accusations and slanders From which I am called 
upon to vindicate myself, — at the expense of time, energy and powers that 
might have been devoted to my chosen science. 

The reader is well aware by this time that, in the dialect of the Accu* 
sers, " the Trustees " generally signifies either Mr. Olcott or Dr. Armsby ; 
that, if these are men of ordinary capacity and sense, they could not have 
believed what the "Statement " asserts on page 13 they did believe ; and 
that the vivid word-painting with which the fertile ingenuity of the Author 
or Authors has decorated the "Statement " belongs to the class of imag* 
inative composition, rather than to the historical department. Were the 
subject a less serious one, it might excite a smile to think of " the drop* 
ping time-ball in every great city on the continent/' announcing the mid" 
night hour I 

17. Quotations on page 14. 

Two alleged quotations are given in the " Statement," on page 14 ;— > 
one of them containing a sentence italicized throughout to correspond with 
the introductory remark about " the following characteristic terms." Both 
extracts are mutilated, and both are given in such a way and such a con* 
nection as to distort their original meaning-. 

The first is from a letter written by me 5 1856, January 6,~^not to "the 
Trustees," but to my (then) friend Dr. Armsby. I had been informed that 
a person of much note was annoyed at the prominence which the regula- 
tion of time for New York City would give the Dudley Observatory, and 
that strong efforts were made to prevent the acceptance of our plan by 
the Common Council. And my short acquaintance with Dr. Armsby had 
already shown me, that he was not much in the habit of keeping either bis 
own counsel or that of others. I may here mention, too, that Messrs. 
Olcott and Harris would be somewhat surprised did they know how con* 
stantly such of their recent plans and counsels as have been confided to 
this loquacious man have shared the fate of all my former communications 
to him, and found their way most accurately to the very place to which they 
should not have gone. 

In the letter alluded to, I therefore endeavored to caution Dr. Armsby 
against his excessive talkativeness and boastfulness > and suggested, as a 
matter of common sense) that it would not be well to suspect others of 
jealousy, nor yet to afford an opportunity for any one to thwart our plans in 
case such jealousy did really exist. And in the unconstrained style of 
private correspondence, I intimated my hope that the thing would not be 
talked about till every arrangement for the apparatus was completed, even 
to the setting of the trigger. 



195 



As the same letter contains another pas-sage cited by the Accusers, at 
the bottom of page 10, I will here give the most of it, side by side, with 
the two garbled extracts : 

What the Accusers say — "Statement" What I wrote to Dr. ^rmsby, 

page 10. Jan. 12, I860. 

"As for what is to come next I 
dare not anticipate the future. 1 am 
ready and cheerfully happy to go on 
with the equipment and organiza- 
tion of the Observatory; and in the 
spring will propose a plan for its laws 
and regulation;. Meantime, since I 
saw you, I have ordered one Chrono- 
graph and the "Corning" clock, and 
given directions for estimates and plans 
for two other chronographs, the dials 
for the sidereal p.nd the mean time 
clocks, the adjustments to regulate 
railroad and other clocks on the cir- 
cuits, the observing keys, and the time 
ball; or, what may perhaps be even 
better, the falling of four arms. If 
when all is done, I beg you to let me 
relinquish the directorship to some 
one else, (and I can name others quite 
as good) you know that you are not 
to blame me. . . . 

I have replied by this mail that I do 
not propose to appear in the premises, 
but that you Albany people will watch 
developments. Of course it is not well 
to suspect the possibility of any one 
being jealous; or that New York 
would have the time elsewhere than 
from her own capital. But do be 
cautious how the thing is talked of 
publicly, until the trigger is ready to 
be pulled. 

Bache will be at your disposal Jan. 
18; but I would strongly recommend 
a deliberate discussion of policy with 

him on the 17th I will 

be there myself also, but beg you in 
advance to let me be a looker on, — or 
at most to have a voice in council, 
without taking any active, conspicuous 
part." 

Passing now to the Second quotation on page 14, its motive will be 
readily recognized. The Accusers desire to represent me as alluding to 
this same matter of time to Nevj York City ; as expressing myself with 
certainty, or, as they call it, "promising;" — and as being the rcspo?isible 
person. Let a true extract speak for itself. The capitals mark impor- 
tant words : 



He also writes '. " Since I saw you, 
I have ordered one Chronograph and 
clock, and given direction for estimates 
and plans for two other Chronographs , 
the dial for the sidereal and the mean 
time clock, the adjustment to regulate 
railroad and other clocks on the cir- 
cuits, the observing keys and the time 
ball." 



"Statement," page 14-— First Extract. 

In his letter to the Trustees, pro- 
mising a "time " revenue to the Ob- 
servatory, to commence immediately 
after the Inauguration, Br. Gould 
took occasion to caution them against 
making his plans too public, in the 
following characteristic terms : 

"It is not well to suspect the possi» 
bility that New York could wish to have 
the time elsewhere than at her own 
capital ; but do be cautious how the thing 
is talked of publicly until the trigger is 
ready to be pulled." 



196 

What the Accusers say, p. 14. What I wrote, to Dr. Armsby t 

_ As if to keep the same delusive 1856 > Feh - 4 - 

vision of a " time " revenue before the I believe we did not speak again con- 

minds of the Trustees, Dr. Gould cerning the furnishing of time to the 
again, writing from Mobile, under city of Albany. You have probably 
date of February 4, 1856, says : not allowed the clocks in the Capitol 

and the State Library to escape tour 

memory. In estimating the expense 3 

I suppose tou will not omit to bear in 

mind that a short piece of line will 

"There is no reason why all the have to be built. There is no reason 

clocks in the city should not form a that I see now, why all the clocks 

circuit for themselves, independent, in the city should not form a circuit 

and be strictly sympathetic. " for themselves independently and be 

strictly sympathetic, i.e. not ordinary 
clocks adjusted from time to time by 
the Corning- clock, but pieces of 
mechanism driven entirely by the 
galvanic circuit, and beating synchron- 
ously with the motor clock in the Ob- 
servatory. 

The bold falsehood about a revenue from furnishing time to the cities 
will be apparent. 

18. Employment of Mr. Spencer. 

Upon pages 14 and 15 of the "Statement" is the remark : 

"Accordingly, when, upon his return from Europe, he informed them that 
he had not contracted for a Heliometer there, and submitted the proposition 
that Mr. Spencer should be employed to construct the instrument, the Trus- 
tees cheerfully assented," &c, &c. 

The "accordingly" here set down represents the Trustees as being 
beguiled and influenced to a certain act in January, by a " delusive 
vision " which I put before them a month later — in February ! 

An effort is made "by the Accusers, throughout the second as through- 
out the first attack, to make me responsible for Mr. Spencer's non- com- 
pletion of the Heliometer. This point, and some accompanying ones, are 
disposed of elsewhere. Moreover, the five lines following the sentence I 
have quoted contain two direct falsehoods, and four more by implication ; 
but these have been disposed of elsewhere, and I do not dwell on them 
here. 

Mr. Spencer is alluded to as if he were some unknown friend of mine, for 
whom I desired to obtain a job. Yet I never saw him until Jan., 1856, 
after my return from Europe, and visited him then at the earnest instance of 
Dr. Armsby. I will confess that prejudices had been raised against him in 
my mind by the absurd claims of Dr. Armsby in his behalf; — but an 
inspection of the magnificent 13-inch equatorial then nearly completed by 
him, and a conversation of some few hours upon astronomical instruments, 
showed me that Astronomy had' as much to hope from his telescopes, as Natu- 



197 

ral History had already profited by his microscopes. My only hesitation 
as to the propriety of the order being given him, arose from doubts as to 
his possession of the necessary means. These doubts were overruled by 
Mr. Olcott ; and in a conference with him and Dr. Armsby, an hour before 
the assembly at Mrs. Dudley's, ("Statement," p. 15) it was unanimously 
decided to award the construction to him. Mr. Spencer had not expected 
such a result, and was not aware of it until two days later. As 
for myself, it was with no small satisfaction that I believed we had won a 
new Fraunhofer for the service of Astronomy. 

Mr. Spencer himself wrote to Dr. Armsby, 1856, Jan. 14: 

"Dr. Gould's remarks were to me as unexpected as gratifying Indeed, I 
was satisfied that the Dr. would insist upon sending the order to Repsold; and 
had made up my own mind to yield the point, rather than run counter to what 
I supposed his strong conviction." 

To show how persistent had been the previous appeals of Dr. Armsby, 
I cite a few passages from his letters, — the first five of them having been 
addressed to me, in Europe. 

1855, Sept. 30. " Prof. Eaton, the partner of Spencer of Canastota, called 
on me yesterday to complain of our sending to Europe for all the instruments, 
without ever inquiring as to their ability to fill the orders. He says they are 
going to build a Helioineter and have it finished before ours is done." 

1855, Nov. 6. "In my last, or the previous one, I mentioned my conversa- 
tion with Prof. Eaton in regard to the Heliometer, without attaching much 
importance to his remarks. I agree entirely with you that it would not have 
done to trust Spencer with any of the orders, however grateful to our national 
pride such an achievement as he hopes to accomplish might have been. Spen- 
cer has a new idea, as I understand. It is to convert his new Equatorial into 
a Heliometer; or so to mount it that it can be used for either, by simply 
changing the object glasses." 

1855, Nov. 12. " I shall do my best to have Spencer's establishment removed 
to Albany. I mentioned in my last that Spencer proposed to construct his 
Equatorial so that it could be used as a Heliometer. Is this possible ?" 

1855, Dec. 3. " Cannot the Heliometer also be built here ?" 

1855, Dec. 4. "I trust we can have both Heliometer and Equatorial com- 
pleted by August next. S. and E. are anxious to put themselves under a bond 
of $ 10,000 to finish both by that time, and have them satisfactorily mounted. 
The information you will be able to give them on your return, I have no doubt 
will enable them to combine all the improvements you may desire. The divi- 
ding of the object-glass, by the means they have invented, is a trifling matter." 

1855, Dec. 29. " Spencer and Eaton are very desirous to build the Heliom- 
eter, and will pledge themselves to have it completed before the meeting of the 
Association, if the order can be given immediately. They have a 10-inch, which 

they can divide and use for the purpose He [Spencer] thinks a 

Heiiometer can be built w r ith a much larger object-glass, and is most anxious 
to engage at once in the work. He has just finished his great Equatorial for 
Hamilton College, for which he receives $10,000. They are burning with 
impatience to have you see and examine it. The object-glass is 13 inches clear 

diameter Spencer has an idea, that he is anxious to test, in regard 

to the Heliometer He will lay his plan before you when you come 

to Albany. 

How soon can you be in Albany ? We must then run up to Canastota for a 



198 

day and see Spencer and Eaton, and then you will be able to decide in regard 
to the Heliometer. No time is to be lost in giving the order, if you think they 
can be trusted to build it, and if it is to be finished in August next. They 
feel confident in their ability to complete the instrument to your satisfaction, 
and will give any guarantee required for the faithful fulfilment of their con- 
tract, if the order is given them." 

The assertion, that he could begin and complete a Heliometer in less 
than eight months, had naturally led me to distrust Mr. Spencer, — until, 
in January, 1856, he assured me that he had never held out any such 
inducement, and we found the statement attributable to the vivid and 
glowing imagination of the enthusiastic Armsby ! 

19. Expedition of Messrs. Spencer and Gavit to Europe. 

I have elsewhere explained that the sum of $750 was added in each of 
the original estimates for the heliometer by Mr. Spencer, to cover the 
estimated expense of going to Europe to examine the Oxford heliometer and 
the principal workshops. This expedition was the condition, unanimously 
agreed on, upon which the construction of the Dudley Heliometer was 
awarded him. Mr. Gavit, who accompanied him, went as Agent of the 
Local Committee of the American Association, to present those invitations 
to prominent men of science abroad, in connection with which the Accu- 
sers have so sedulously endeavored to make me appear odious. 

The falsity of the assertions of the Accusers upon these subjects, on 
pages 15 and 16 of their " Statement," will thus be evident without 
farther comment. They say also on these pages that, 

<c To reconcile the Trustees to this further expense, which seemed to them 
quite unnecessary, he stated .... that such were the peculiarities of 
Mr. Spencer, that a judicious companion might, to use his own language, ( pre- 
vent him from going off upon side issues.' " 

This alleged extract was of course inserted and italicised to create unkind 
feeling between myself and Mr. Spencer. Were my Accusers any others 
than the men they are, it would hardly be credited that the sentence which 
they have altered into these words was written after Mr. Gavit's expedition 
was decided upon, — and that it was #s follows, the letter in which it 
occurs being marked " Private" : 

" It will be a capital thing for our friend Gavit to accompany Spencer. 
Caution him to keep Spencer from going off on side ideas." 

The talk about " hesitation" and '" reluctance" is a fiction of the 
writer of the paragraph. The Local Committee of the Association, not the 
Trustees of the Observatory, sent Mr. Gavit to Europe. [See Appendix.] 

In the two paragraphs here examined concerning Mr. Spencer and 
Mr. Gavit, there are six deliberate, point-blank falsehoods. My heart 
sickens with them, and I pas3 on. 



199 



20. Invitations to the Inauguration. 

The greater part of page IT of the " Statement*' is devoted to an 
attempt to excite prejudice against me, as having made efforts for " the 
exclusion" of certain persons "from the Inauguration." Probably no one 
point has been more harped upon than this ; for these men, in the narrow- 
ness of their souls, supposed that every person not invited to the in mgu- 
ration-cercmonies would look upon me as the cause of the " exclusion." 
If so I must be truly an unfortunate man ; for to the best of my know- 
ledge 7io special invitations were issued, except certain cards of nominal 
admission distributed by Dr. Armsby and Mr. Olcott for a day or two pre- 
vious. In the invitations to the meeting of the American Association for 
the Advancement of Science, whose session was held in Albany in August, 
1856, during the week previous to the Inauguration, and closed only 
a few hours before the Observatory addresses in the great tent, it was 
mentioned that the new Geological Hall and the Dudley Observatory 
would be "inaugurated" during the week; — and these invitations 
besides being sent to every one of the members of the Association, were 
widely circulated, and special ones distributed to eminent Europeans. 

Let me quote : 



From the "Statement of the Trustees," 
page 17. 

Much attention was also given by 
Dr. Gould, at this time, to efforts to 
make the Inauguration ceremonies at 



What I wrote to Dr. Jfrmsby, New 
Orleans, 1856, March 23. 

It strikes me, if you in Albany 
approve, that beside the list of astro- 
nomers, Hall, Dana and Agassiz, as 



which the great instruments were to also perhaps others, such as Bache, 

be exhibited, and the time from the Peirce, Gibbs, be invited to propose 

Observatory sent forth to all parts of one or two names; — that we weigh 

the State, an entire success. Even these names carefully, to avoid dimin- 

the character of the parties invited to ishing the honor of the invitations by 



be present, engaged his attention. On 
the 23d of March he wrote to the 
Trustees cautioning them to 

"weigh all the names of the parties 
invited, carefully, in order to avoid 
diminishing the honor of the invitations, 
by affording them to second or third rate 
people." 



affording them to second or third rate 
people also ; and then draw up a neat 
and pretty invitation, to be issued in 
the name of the Local Committee, and 
countersigned by the officers of the 
association or not, as you may prefer. 
Perhaps the Dudley Obs. would 
like to send some in its own name 
also. In three weeks I will be with 
you in Albany, if desirable, — even 
before I return home, — and we can 
then finish up the matter neatly and 
handsomely. It is rather late, I know, 
but perhaps the advantages to be de- 
rived from deliberateness will compen- 
sate, and having heard from the 
representatives of other departments of 
learning, we can distribute these un- 
questionably highly honorable and 
flattering invitations with discrimina- 
tion, — which if so small a number of 
invitations are issued, becomes an ex- 



200 

tremely important element. Meantime 
I will do my best to draw up a list, to 
be compared with the others you may 
have received. 

Do ask S. and G. to let me hear 
from Berlin, of the progress of the 
transit and mer. circle. 

The apparently incidental remark of the Accusers, that at this time 

" The great instruments were to be exhibited, and the time from the Obser- 
vatory sent forth to all parts of the State," 

will be noticed. Also the perversion,' — in referring to the " Inauguration 

ceremonies " what was written about the Meeting of the Association. Also 

the garblings by which I am represented as cautioning the Trustees to 

weigh, <&c, when I was writing about a " weighing" of scientific names by 

scientific men. Also the fact that the motive was to make me odious, and 

by the introduction of charges not bearing upon the main question. But 

there is much more which is not so readily perceived, and to which I must 

call attention. 

The Tenth Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science was held at Albany in August, 1856. To render this 
meeting of the Association as attractive as possible, invitations were issued 
to prominent European scientists. The Ocean Steamship companies gener- 
ously offered to the Association fourteen free passages. The number of 
available invitations being thus limited, it of course became necessary to 
exercise some discretion in selecting the persons to be invited. I was my- 
self General Secretary of the Association, Dr. Armsby being a Secretary of 
the Local Committee of citizens ; thence my correspondence with him 
upon the subject. With this simple explanation I ask the reader to look 
back at the extracts, from my real letter, and from the " Statement" of the 
Accusers, given above. 

"Efforts to make the Inauguration ceremonies" "an entire success," 
would have deserved the commendation, — not the censure ,— of these consci- 
entious and honorable . Trustees. But they speak of them with a sneer, as 
though they were disreputable ; and go on to say " Even the character of the 
parties invited./' &c, — and just below, continue " Nor was his anxiety for 
the success of the Observatory, confined to the exclusion," &c, &c. 

Now, astonishing as it may appear to the reader, I devoted no attention 
whatever, in advance, to these "Inauguration-ceremonies." Mr. Olcott 
and Dr. Armsby well know that I was not in favor of them ; and that — 
although I did what I could to aid, after the " ceremonies " were decided 
on, — the part I took was a very insignificant one. Even the remarks which 
I made on the occasion, and which are printed in the pamphlet, [" the 
Trustees" have taken a few "liberties" with them in the recent edition,] 



201 



were only prepared on the day when they were delivered. The parade and 
public demonstration, which seems inseparable from anything with which 
the names of Olcott and Armsby are connected, were unpalatable to my 
taste, revolting to my feelings, grating to my nerves. A student recoils 
from all such pomp and display ; — and it was only borne on my part, as 
an evil beyond avoidance. 

But the Accusers give yet more falsified extracts ; — worse than the pre- 
ceding, — although the wicked trick may fail of its intended mischief after 
the true circumstances are once stated. What shall be said of the base- 
ness of inserting in my letter a sentence not contained in it: — "Do not 

invite and ," for the sake of sowing suspicion wherever believers 

in the assertions of these Accusers can be found ? 



From the " Statement of the Trustees," 
page 17. 

Again on the 29th of March, he 
writes : 

1 ' Do not invite and 

* * * * The invitations should be 
select, in order to make them compli- 
mentary. A scientific man, like an 
artist, is sensitive: and the inviting a 
single man of* the wrong kind, while one 
of the right kind is omitted, might de- 
stroy half the charm of the whole affair. 
To hear that the invitation, which should 
be a high honor to him, had gone to Mr. 
Jones, or Mr. Smith, would do much 
harm." 

Nor was his anxiety for the success 
of the Observatory, confined to the 
exclusion of those " second and third- 
rate men," Messrs. Smith and Jones, 
from the Inauguration. Having learn- 
ed, that Messrs. Spencer and Gavit's 
departure for Europe had been delayed, 
he expressed much concern, and wrote : 

" I will not believe it possible that 
Spencer should not go just at the last 
moment. Certainly he ought not to un- 
dertake the Heliometer without having 
visited the European instruments, and 
he needs Gavit's companionship." 



What I wrote to Dr. Armsby, Mont- 
gomery, {Ala.) March 29, 1856. 

It is too late for this to reach you 
before Spencer and Gavit will have 
sailed, for I will not believe it possible 
that Spencer should not go, just at the 
last moment. Certainly he ought not 
to undertake the Heliometer, without 
having visited the European instru- 
ments. And he needs Gavit's com- 
panionship. I trust that if S. be 
delayed, G. will have delayed his 
departure also. 

My letter will before this have 
reached you, in which I laid stress on 
the circumstance that the invitations 
should be select, in order to make them 
complimentary. Cannot a line be sent 
to Gavit, if he have sailed when this 
arrives, telling him to wait on arriving, 
before distributing the invitations, 
until he shall have heard from home 
again. I will try to be with you in 
the course of a fortnight, even before 
going home. You know that scientific 
men, like artists, are sensitive, and the 
inviting a single man of the wrong 
kind, while any of the right kind are 
omitted, might destroy half the charm 
of the whole affair. 



All this must be smoothed over, and 
I think it can be, but it requires dis- 
cretion, and delicacy ; and to hear that 
the invitation, which should be a high 
honor to him* has gone to Mr. Smith 
or Mr. Jones, would do much harm. 
Therefore I think I will telegraph you from Macon, where I shall be tomorrow 
morning, asking you to delay the presentation of the invitations, until G., on 
arriving in England, shall have heard from you. 

* An eminent European scientist, named in my letter, was here referred to. 

14 



202 

It will be evident to all, that this was no official correspondence, hut a 
private and highly confidential discussion. It pertained, not to the Inaugu- 
ration, hut to the meeting of the Association. The letter was not written 
"to the Trustees," but to Dr. Armsby, the Secretary of the Local Com- 
mittee, by the General Secretary of the Association, — and I see nothing to 
regret in it, excepting that I could ever have written anything to such a 

person. The fabrication of the words " Do not invite and ," is not 

" moral forgery !" It is real forgery, though not the crime of that name 
which the statutes define ; it is a crime, nevertheless, — although one which 
the law does not reach, and a Judge of the Supreme Court has therefore 
not hesitated to give it the sanction of his name, at least.* 

Let the reader take this calumny in regard to " invitations to the 
Inauguration," — manufactured, by additions and suppressions, from a 
correspondence relating to a different matter ; — and compare it with the 
declarations of its authors upon pages 163 and 164 of their so-called 
" Statement:" 

" But in this statement, the Trustees have thought fit to confine themselves 
to matters relating directly to the Dudley Observato^, and have availed them- 
selves only of such letters as are strictly of an official character, carefully 
abstaining from all reference to such as might by any possibility, be regarded 
as confidential;" 

But I have something yet to add. 

Dr. Armsby had repeated and urgently called upon me to nomiuate the 
recipients of the fourteen invitations. As may be seen even from the extract 
from my letter here given, I declined doing this, but readily agreed to join 
with others in " drawing up a list" and "weighing the names carefully." 
And I may add that from the list finally decided on, many were excluded 
whom, both on account of their eminence, and for the credit of those respon- 
sible for the selection, I earnestly desired to see invited. But as soon as 
others were found ready and willing to assume the responsibility, I with- 
drew from it, as abundant evidence exists to prove. And when Dr. Armsby 
brought out one proposition, better adapted even than any of its predeces- 
sors to make us ridiculous abroad, I wrote him: 

1856, May 12. " As regards the distribution of the others [the free pas- 
sages] you will forgive me for suggesting that if the thing is to be a compli- 
ment, it ought not to be accessible by solicitation of the parties concerned, — 

*I am informed, on good authority, that Dr. Armsby has secretly told more 
than one of my friends that his name filled this Hank ! Yet the only language in 
any way resembling it, which I ever wrote any of these men, was on a very diffe - 
ent occasion, in reply to some queries as to the propriety of soliciting certain gen- 
tlemen to form a business co-partnership with a friend of ours, in Albany. The 

proposition struck me as absurd and I replied " Don't ask ." And I added 

(on account of other matters) " Please throw this into the fire as soon as you have 
read it." 



203 

either personal or second hand via their friends. To attend the meeting, no 
invitation is requisite; and it would be a source of great mortification to me to 
remember how many excellent people and dear friends I omitted from conscien- 
tious scruples,— when, after all, they were mountain-high above such people as 
those whose names are sent you." 

The last of the three quotations in the " Statement," upon this subject 
has no bearing upon the questions ostensibly at issue ; but is inserted 
for some not very well denned purpose of enforcing the implied theory 
that I was meddling beyond my province. " Having learned," they say, 

" That Messrs. Spencer and Gavit's departure for Europe had been delayed, 
he expressed much concern, and wrote," &c. 

The amount of concern expressed is easily measured, for it is all in the 
true extract, as given above from my letter of March 29. Whether there 
was ground for " concern" may be readily decided after reading the follow- 
*ng extracts from letters of Dr. Armsby : 

1856, Jan. 9. " I shall do my best to get Spencer off to Europe this winter, 
so that he may be ready to commence on our instrument as soon as the new 
building for workshops is completed." 

Jan. 16. " If Spencer comes down, I hope you will get him to leave a rough 
estimate for the Heliometer on his way home. When Mr. Olcott has this esti- 
mate he will call on Mrs. Dudley and get her check for the amount." 

Jan. 28. " Gavit has decided to go to Europe with Spencer, and is making 
his arrangements to start as soon as S. can leave." 

Jan. 30. " Gavit is getting ready to accompany Spencer to Europe. He is 
the best person to go." 

Feb. 22. " Spencer and Gavit are to leave the first week in March. They 
could not get ready sooner." 

March 2. " Gavit and Spencer, I am sorry to say, have not yet started, but 
hope to in a few days. The^ difficulty in arranging business so suddenly has 
hitherto prevented." 

March 7. " Spencer and Gavit are to sail in the Baltic on the 15th inst." 

March 10. " Spencer and Gavit, who are to sail, we hope, on the 15th. It 
is possible they may be delayed until the 1st of April." 

March 12. " Spencer has been delayed on account of the Equatorial for 
Hamilton College. He wants also to take out a microscope, &c." 

_ March 15. " He [Mr. Gavit] will not sail before the 2d of April by the Per- 
sia, and it is possible Spencer may not accompany him, but I think he will. At 
all events Gavit will go, as the agent of the Local Committee of the Associa- 
tion, to present the invitations in person Do not be alarmed at the 

possibility of Spencer's delay." 

(My letter of March 29, quoted above, was in response to this last 
letter of Dr. Armsby.) 

March 22. "In my last I suggested that possibly Spencer might not be able 
to accompany Gavit. It will all be arranged so that he can go with G., I have 
no doubt on the 2d of April." 

April 5. " Spencer and Gavit will be ready to sail on the 15th, if nothing 
should occur to prevent. They have been unavoidably detained." 

April 8. " Spencer and Gavit are to sail in the Asia on the 16th (Wednes- 
day of next week)." 



204 



« 



21. Quotations on page 18. 

I need not dwell on these, farther than to show their falsification and to 
exhibit the motive. 

The falsification of the first two has been already exhibited on page 29. 

The substitution of the word "architecture" for "architectural draw- 
ing" is in order to make me acknowledge my ignorance of a matter upon 
which it is alleged I am assuming responsibility, and in order to give 
significance to the falsification in the quotation next following. 

The motives of the very bare-faced alterations of the second scarcely 
require explanation. First, I must be made to approve the plan for 
alteration of the building, which, in fact, I disapproved. Secondly, I 
must be represented as extravagant, with which theory the true letter 
would tend to conflict. Thirdly, the fabricated clause about "altering 
the two wings," (in which, as in other quotations, the authors italicised 
one of the inserted words,) is to make me favor the alterations of the 
west wing, which I strongly opposed until it was beyond prevention. 

The third quotation I append. It was prepared by inserting the words 
" of course" and omitting the word " certainly" by which latter change 
the meaning of the entire sentence is reversed. The closing sentence of the 
paragraph would " of course" have contradicted this new meaning. The 
coarse indelicacy of thus needlessly bringing forward the name of an esti- 
mable gentleman is self-evident. 

From the "Statement of the Trustees," What I wrote to Dr. jlrmsly, 1858, 

page 18. dpril 28. 

On the 28th of April, Dr. Gould, I have received a letter from Prof. 

still holding out the expectation that P. P. Brown, who wants to be assist- 

the Observatory would be in working ant at the Dudley Observatory, — and 

order by the end of August, writing propose to refer him to you after in- 

from Cambridge, says : forming him that the Observatory will 

"I have received a letter from Prof, certainly not commence its activity 

P. P. Brown, who wants to be assistant before the end of August. Counting 

at the Dudley Observatory, and propose, chickens is doubtless a praiseworthy 

of course, to refer him to you, after in- occupation, but requires discretion as 

forming him that the Observatory will regards the stage of their development, 
not commence its activity before the last 
of August." 

There is still another quotation on page 18 of the " Statement" about 
a derrick, — also somewhat altered, — but this is unimportant except in 
connection with the " ingenious crane." The words " can he obtained" 
are substituted for "could be used" in order to give effect to the subse- 
quent declaration of these Accusers that any ordinary apparatus would 
have answered the purpose. 

22. Quotations on pages 19 and 20. 
On these two pages there are six alleged extracts from my letters, 
beside sundry phrases so placed in quotation-marks as to attribute them 



205 

to me. Every one of the extracts is falsified, — some very wickedly ; — 
and most of them convey, either directly or indirectly, some untruthful 
impression. 

The assertion that I stated that " the time-ball matter" "hangs on 
account of the inactivity of Mr. Blunt" I pronounce a slanderous false- 
hood. I never said so. The motive here, like^that in Mr. Olcott's first 
attack, where he falsely alleged that I treated a valuable gift of Mr. 
Blunt's with scorn, is palpable. — " Blessed are the peacemakers !" 

The mutilations on page 19 are great. The one exposed on p. 30 of 
this Reply will suffice as a specimen. 

The distortion is manifest. The letter goes on to speak of sending 
Dr. Peters, — a man concerning whom it says " I have only hesitated, on 
the matter of policy a little." The views and apprehensions there 
expressed, and conformity to which was neglected in consequence of my 
kindly feelings towards the man, have now a vivid significance when com- 
pared with the illustrations of their correctness furnished since that time 
by Messrs. Peters and Briinnow. 

And, finally, the letter concludes with the request that it be burned! 

At the top of page 20 of their " Statement," the Accusers give an extract 
about the inscription upon the Meridian-circle. It is not correctly given, 
but the changes are comparatively unimportant. The closing sentence of 
the paragraph is omitted. It was : — " If Mr. Olcott is to give it, this 
ought to be put, Presented by T. W. Olcott" Mr. Olcott did not give 
it; and the words " presented by" were not inscribed upon it, although he 
now claims the merit of having presented it ! [See also § 10]. 

The other citation on this page relates to what the Accusers call 
" experimental chronographs." One of their favorite accusations is that 
I allowed money to be spent in experiments upon chronographs. This 
charge occurs not only in several places in the " Statement," but also in 
the First Attack. Had expense been thus incurred, I hold that it would 
have been not only legitimate but laudable ; but not a dollar was thus 
brought to the charge of the Observatory ! Had the Accusers felt that 
their graver charges could be substantiated, they would have been under 
no necessity of fabricating one so trivial. I give the quotation, — in which 
it will be seen that the word ■' experiments" is substituted for the words 
" to progress" in order to furnish a basis for this paltry accusation. 

From the " Statement" of the Accu- What I wrote to Dr. Armsby, 1856, 
sers, p. 20. July 10. 

On the 10th of July, Dr. Gould first " This afternoon I shall drive over 

writes that his plans for experimental to Roxbury, as I generally do twice a 

chronographs do not work quite satis- week, to look after the progress of the 

factoriiy. He says: chronographs. I was more sanguine o 



206 

"I was more sanguine of their bril- their brilliant success a fortnight ago 
liant success, a fortnight ago, than I am than I am now; but while we are try- 
now; hut while we are trying experi- i ng to progress, we take care to put a 
merits, we take care to put a peg through pe? through all that we have already 
all that we have already secured." secured " 

In his First Attack, Mr. Olcott said, 

"Dr. Gould contracted a debt for Chronographs and Clocks not immediately 
wanted, costing nearly $1200, a good share of which sum I understood was 
lost in experiments." 

And besides the allusion in the passage just cited from page 20 of the 
Second Attack, one of the sins imputed to me on page 52 is the " order- 
ing experimental instruments." On page 138 a grand tirade upon the 
subject also occurs, — upon a text which contains three misstatements in 
five lines. 

The basis and the evidence of this charge, so often repeated, are con- 
tained in the falsification just exposed, — the simple substitution of the 
word " experiments" for the words " to progress" in a private letter to 
Dr. Armsby. 

23. Encomiums uyon Peters. . 

One page is here devoted by tie Accusers to an account of Dr. Peters ; 
this with the next one forming two pages whose equals for all that con- 
stitutes mendacity, whether in quantity or quality, can probably not "be 
matched in the English language. 

They begin by saying : 

"About this time, Dr. C. H. F. Peters, an eminent practical astronomer, 
arrived in Albany. He had been detailed to the Observatory, by the Superin- 
tendent of the Coast Survey, in whose employ he then was." 

Dr. Peters is now discovered to have been " an eminent practical astrono- 
mer, while " Dr. Gould's views were theoretical only," and " he was with- 
out practical experience." 1 On this subject, I beg to refer to ^ 7 of the 
" Defence " by the Scientific Council. • 

Dr. Peters was detailed, not by the Superintendent, but by me, to come 
to Albany; and after considerable correspondence upon the subject. 

The " Statement " next says, that " his arrival was hailed with much 
satisfaction by the Trustees, to whom the continued absence of Dr. Gould 
had been a source of much regret and embarrassment." Regret and 
embarrassment at my continued absence, at a time when they no more 
expected my presence in Albany, as even a temporary resident, than they 
expected that of the Astronomer Royal of England ! See the three quota- 
tions from Prof. Bache's letters on this subject, pages 28, 29. No, I sent 
Dr. Peters to Albany to attend to certain official work, and the only duty 
he war to perform, which had any bearing on my relations with the Trus- 



207 

tees, was that of looking after the constructions in progress, — to prevent, if 
possible, misehievdua and fatal departures from proper plans; nor did they 
know him officially, otherwise than through me, until the culmination, in 
December, 1857, of his intrigue with Mr. Olcott and Dr. Armsby. He 
had nothing to do with astronomical work for the Observatory, nor did he 
do any such work, except, at my suggestion, in the occasional voluntary use 
of the comet-seeker. 

The Accusers say that I called Dr. Peters a man of " vast experience, 
practical ability, and great genius." I am certain that I never applied 
such language to him. I have written of him in terms of commendation, 
especially at the time when, in Nov., 1856, Dr. Armsby applied to me to 
recall him, and put an American in his place. But I never spoke of him 
in the terms attributed to me. 

The statement on page 21, as to the offer made him by Lieut. Grilliss, is 
likewise untrue in many respects. The offer alluded to was made by Lieut. 
Grilliss through me, at my recommendation, and after Peters had been 
stationed in Albany. The statement that " Dr. Peters had been employed 
in aid of Dr. Gould," in Lieut. Grilliss's work upon the Chilian expedition, 
is a distortion of the simple fact that — in my investigation of the Solar 
Parallax from Lieut. Gilliss's observations, made at the request of this dis- 
tinguished astronomer, and by appointment from the Navy Department — I 
had personally hired Dr. Peters to perform certain calculations. I paid him 
from my private means, at a rate double what it was my custom to dve 
others for the same kind of work, in which I frequently employed students 
of the university. My motive was to aid and befriend him as delicately as 
I knew how, being aware that his salary of $540 a year from the Coast 
Survey was scarcely sufficient to support him. 

The " three assistants," spoken of in this connection, is " poetry." 

24. The Piers. 

It is untrue that, as stated on page 21 of the " Statement," 

" Throughout June and July, the work at the Observatory was delayed 
through the necessity of transmitting plans to Cambridge or Washington, and 
especially because of the difficulty in deciding upon the sort of piers to be 
obtained." 

No plans were sent to "Washington, nor was the work delayed by the 
necessity for transmission. - But even had it been so, it would furnish no 
ground for finding fault with me. If I toiled for the institution gratuitous- 
ly, it was enough, and Cambridge may be reached from Albany in nine 
hours ; I hav'e made the trip in seven hours and a half. 

The material for the piers was, it is true, a subject of long, careful and 
laborious investigation ; but it was decided on previous to the time at 



208 

which the Accusers say the " difficulty in deciding " delayed the work. No 
delay occurred on this account, and if any occurred on account of selecting 
the quarry, (an assertion which I find myself without present means of 
disproving, but which I believe to be untrue,) it was certainly not charge- 
able to me. 

That " Dr. Gould desired to have the largest stone piers in the world, 
irrespective of cost," is an assertion as ridiculous to an astronomer, as it 
is untrue, — since the dimensions of the piers in height, breadth, and thick- 
ness were, by the very structure of this meridian- circle, prescribed by 
the dimensions of the instrument, except for the part near the base, where 
they were prescribed by the dimensions of the foundation, which was cer- 
tainly too small. " The largest in the world " is a phrase which smacks 
more of Dr. Armsby than of the chief author of the " Statement." 

" The Trustees " " sometimes considered those [i. e. my] views pecu- 
liar !" The Accusers now say they had not at the time assumed the 
position of astronomical critics, and the information therefore reaches me 
now for the first time- 

At the bottom of page 21, and top of page 22, is a passage vainly 
intended to create unkind feeling between myself and my respected and 
esteemed friend, Professor Bartlett. That the printing of such an extract 
is a base betrayal of confidence, is self-evident. But it was not " Profes- 
sor Bartlett's talk " which was " simply absurd." It was what Dr. Armsby 
in his want of comprehension said about it. After all the plans had been 
completed, the stones selected and all received, one of the two circle-piers 
rejected, for reasons hereafter to be given, and its substitute quarried 
out,— Dr. Armsby wrote to me, in November, certain alleged suggestions 
of that gentleman. What I erred in, was in not at once assuming the 
whole to be Dr. Armsby's version, and something very different from what 
Prof. Bartlett said. I am now aware that what he did say was not in 
suggestion at all, but in reply to the incessant questionings of Armsby. 

The subject on p. 22 closes with the assertion that " annoying delay " 
occurred,— caused by their desire to follow my counsel, and due to my 
absence ; that it was seriously felt by the Trustees, and much embarrassed 
their operations. To the charge of delay, which next to that of extrava- 
gance, is the one most dwelt upon, adhered to, and made plausible ; I have 
very fully replied in Part I., Chap. VI. See also § 43 of Part II., p. 231. 

25. Prof. Backers letter of August 11, 1856. 
The fraudulent perversion of the meaning of this letter, has already 
been exposed in Part First [page 3.4 J. By the omission of three words 
and the change of one, the Accusers have succeeded in making a personal 



209 

letter, — written, at Mr. Olcott's request, for transmission with an official 
one, and suggesting the new appeal to Mrs. Dudley and the citizens of 
Albany, which was so successfully made, soon afterwards, — seem an appeal 
for a change of name ! The remarks prefixed to this extract (p. 22) are 
almost the basest in the whole volume. Look at them. The italics are mine : 

" The anxiety of Prof. Bache to give!" 

" to the Observatory in every respect a national character!" 

" and to take from it all features of a local nature!" 

" induced him to hint at a change of name!" 

" ' Dudley ' was a simple family name!" 

" ' Albany ' a comparatively small city !" 

"Neither suited his ambition /" 

" which was of course purely of a patriotic, unselfish character!" 

" and overshadowed [his] sentiments of personal gratitude and esteem!" 

" for the lady whose name it had taken!" 

"and the city whose liberality had raised it up!" 

"What baseness, what infamy is this ! Signed by seven members of 
Christian Churches, and one of them a Judge of the Supreme Court ! 
Aimed at a man of whom, and whose colleagues, Mr. Olcott published 
the remark three months afterwards : 

"These distinguished scientific gentlemen are' laboring for this Institution 
from the most exalted devotion to the science and honor of their country, and 
with a disinterestedness which has deprived the Trustees of the pleasure o 
even reimbursing them their actual traveling expenses when engaged exclusively 
on business of the Observatory." 

Upon the reception of the letters of Aug. 8, and 11, 1856, Mr. Olcott 
addressed me a note in which he said : 

"I have received the letter from Professors Bache, Peirce and yourself. 
Prof. Bache would have preferred a previous consultation, but too readily 
yielded his judgement to my request. The fact is that I wanted to make a 
secret but strong demonstration upon some of the merchant princes of New 
York, in perhaps the too sanguine hope of a result, which would be to you an 
agreeable surprise. But I have concluded to defer the movement, and I think 
it is wise to do so. You promise a great deal in your joint note; for the friends 
of the Observatory indulge in glorious hopes. But who can doubt, when their 
realization is vouched for by minds which have," &c, &c. 

26. Mrs. Dudley'' s Endowment. 
The noble contribution towards the endowment which was given by this 
honored lady, in August, 1856, and which is now threatened with utter 
sacrifice through the double ingratitude of Mr. Olcott, — who should have 
cherished with more than filial care the name^it was intended to commemo- 
rate, and whose protestations of devotion to the solitary widow had been 
met by the one appeal alone that he would aid her in rearing a fit monu- 
ment to her husband's memory — was obtained upon the presentation to 
Mrs. Dudley of the Council's letter of 1856, Aug. 8, (published in the 
Inauguration-Pamphlet), inclosed to Mr. Olcott by Prof. Bache in his 
letter of Aug. 11. 



210 

Mrs. Dudley, in her own letter announcing the gift, quotes a paragraph 
from this letter of the Council, and besides the quotation refers to the sum 
named by the Council as the minimum required for endowment, and to 
the guarantee of their names. 

She says : 

" Professors Bache, Peirce and Gould, state in a letter which I have been 
permitted to see, that to expand this Institution to the wants of American 
Science, and the honors of a National character, will require an investment 
which will yield annually not less than $10,000. And these gentlemen say, 
in the letter referred to : 

' If the greatness of your giving can rise to this occasion, as it has to all our 
previous suggestions, with such unflinching magnanimity, we promise you our 
earnest and hearty co-operation, and stake our reputations that the scientific suc- 
cess shall fill up the measure of your hopes and anticipations.' 

" For the attainment of an object so rich in scientific rewards and national 
glory, guaranteed by men with reputations,"' &c, " contributions should be 
general, and not confined to an individual or a place. For myself, I offer as 
my share of the required endowment the sum of $50,000 in addition," &c; 

and she then closes with the sentence which the Accusers have quoted, 
although incorrectly, on p. 23. 

In the second letter of the Council, written 1856, Aug. 11, for use in 
New York city, they say / 

" The establishment is thus provided with means of world wide usefulness, 
if endowed so that its advantages may be employed to the full extent." "What 
is wanted to see this establishment permanently successful is shown in the 
annexed paper." " We would not see this admirable building and these costly 
instruments added to the list of those in our country which are lying fallow." 

Yet, in the face of all this, the Accusers aver, on p. 126, that 

" The Trustees cannot persuade themselves that a single dollar has been 
obtained for the Observatory, ' by the use of the name ' or ' the pledge of 
the management ' of the Scientific Council. Such is not the fact." 

On p. 23 they declare 

" This great gift was placed in the hands of Mr. Olcott, without the know- 
ledge of any other person; but on the 26th of August, two days before the 
Inauguration, he deemed it proper to inform the gentlemen of the advisory 
Scientific Council, of the fact." 

On pp. 125, 126, they assert : 

" True, they had probably never seen Mrs. Dudley — the application for the 
donation was made by Mr. Olcott alone — the fact of her intention to make it 
was communicated to him alone — these gentlemen were just as ignorant of the 
fact as anybody else, until a few hours before the inauguration." 

They say on p. 15 : 

" At a meeting of the friends of the Observatory, at the house of Mrs. Dud- 
ley, he (Dr. Gould) announced," &c, &c. 

27. The Inauguration. 

This celebration of the Observatory, which the " Statement" calls " one 

of those great events that constitute an era in its history" and of which 

they say, 



211 

tc It was to occur at the time of the meeting of the American Association for 
the Advancement of Science, and to constitute its great feature of attraction," 

took place, 1856, Aug. 28, after the adjournment of the Association. It 

consisted of a eulogy upon Mr. Dudley by Ex-Governor Hunt ; of sun- 
dry addresses pertaining to {he Observatory ; and of the great oration of 
Mr. Everett upon " The Uses of Astronomy." It occurred before the 
building was finished, or a single pier set, — o£a single instrument received 
from the makers, excepting the Corning Clock and a comet-seeker. Nor 
had it been supposed that the building would be ready in season ; — at least 
since the early spring, when it became manifest that it could not be. I 
had myself been opposed to any celebration, at least until there should be 
something to celebrate ; but, being overruled, did whatever I properly 
could to gratify the love of pomp and show which characterised the Mana- 
gers. And as the Corning clock was all we had, my friend Mr. Gavit took 
charge of the laying of a telegraphic wire from this clock to the place of 
meeting in a great tent at the park, — about a mile distant, — where it was 
connected with a sympathetic dial upon which the time was thus recorded 
on the platform of the tent. It has been already shown [page 55] how 
this simple endeavor of mine to gratify the love of display of Messrs. 
Olcott and Armsby, without derogating from the dignity of the occasion 
has been made the basis of a charge of deception. 

The whole of page 24 is devoted by the Accusers to the narration of 
their alleged woes and sorrows on that occasion. It affords the best dis- 
play of rhetoric in the entire pamphlet. They speak of " reasons for 
sadness," " hopes unfulfilled," " expectations disappointed," " splendid 
promises made by Dr. G-ould," " brilliant visions he had kept before their 
eyes !" They assert that " no marvelously constructed clock noiselessly 
recorded" the time " chimed forth from the belfries of the skies !" There 
was no " time-ball," and " no bond of ever-acting sympathy linked" 
clocks together ! " No railroad station exhibited" " evidence that the 
trains" u were deriving their time from the Dudley Observatory !!" They 
say that the walls were open " to permit the working of the ' Ingenious 
Crane' " — although the plan for this now celebrated instrument was not 
even drawn, until afterward ! They talk of " the glories of the model 
instruments" and " the brilliancy of the fanciful," — of the " imposing 
ceremonies," and " the admiring eyes of millions." 

Alas for rhetoric ! It is only effective when truth is, or is supposed to 
be, its basis. Those who were then in Albany know whether the Trustees 
were despondent or were exultant. The instruments could not have been 
mounted had they arrived; their purpose is not to exhibit "unfolding 
glories," or " brilliant visions," but to make observations which may con- 



212 

tribute to our knowledge of the solemn simple laws of God, as recorded in 
the heavens. The clock was in the Observatory, and the " bond of ever- 
acting sympathy," (the telegraphic wire,) "linked" it with the dial in the 
tent. No " time ball" fell, because the offer of the daily signal had not 
been accepted. But I will not linger upon this trash. The labor of 
exposing such falsehoods and calumnies as are important, is itself enough. 
Allusion has been already made to the care with which Messrs. Olcott 
and Armsby have culled and displayed every complimentary remark, made 
while their characters were so wrongly read by the Council. A page is 
here devoted to it, which I pass over, — -hoping that my well-meant, but 
fatally erroneous, eulogiums may have done no serious harm to any but 

myself. 

28. The Heliometer. 

In the First Part, I have detailed the circumstances connected with the 
order for this instrument, and in §18, page 197, yet more information on 
the subject will be found. The understatement by the Accusers of the 
amount really given by Mrs Dudley has been exposed in § 8. 

On page 81, the " Statement " informs the reader " of $7000, advanced 
to Mr. Spencer on account of the heliometer, which is not yet begun." 
Yet, in a letter of 1857, April 9, Dr. Armsby wrote me concerning the 
advances to Mr. Spencer. 

" We have now advanced as follows :" (Then a list amounting to $9,200.) 
" The interest on these several sums will make it up $10,000 in six months 
more. This is a sad view of the case. But we must make the best of it and 
keep our fears to ourselves. If I could have had my way, I would never have 
advanced the $7,000 unless to a responsible firm, and I so urged, but was over- 
ruled." 

And on the same day Mr. Olcott wrote me : 

" "We are now under advance to him of near $10,000." 

My declaration, that the Trustees would never regret the order to Mr. 
Spencer, would be correct to-day, if Mr. Olcott, their representative, had 
done his duty and protected the interests committed to his trust. How- 
ever discouraging the present prospects, I do not regret my share in the 

proceeding. 

29. The Corning Clock. 

On page 154 of the First Part of this Reply, and in §11 of this Second 
Part, is abundant explanation of the simple matters over which the Accu- 
sers have endeavored to throw such a veil of obscurity. And Mr. Com- 
ing's own manly letter, published at the close of Mr. Thacher's " Key \o 
the " Trustees' Statement," gives a plain narrative. 

My own purpose here is to show distinctly that — not the sidereal or 
" normal " clock, which has not yet been received from Mr Krille — but the 



213 

mean- time clock, the pendulum and great dial of which are in the entrance 
hall, made by Mr. Farmer, and put up by him in the summer of 1856, is, 
and has been, exclusively known by the name of " Corning Clock." I 
quote first from my own letters to Dr. Armsby : 

1856, July 2. " The ' Corning Clock,' i. e., Dial, must be decided on quickly. 
How would it do to put it in the library facing the entrance? Or where? 

July 3. "About the Corning clock we ought to decide now. You will 
remember that there are to be two clocks, each with its system of telegraphi- 
cally regulated dials, — one showing sidereal time, — the other solar (or civil) 
time. The latter is what must be given to the R.R., so it will be best to call 
that the Corning Clock. Now I think that one of each of these dials should be in 
the library; — the " Corning " very handsome. What are your views? 

t 

Dr. Armsby 's reply was as follows : 

1856, July 4. " I would place the dial of the Corning Clock in the recess on 
the right of the center pier." 

" There are four recesses in the wall, in the center large room, either of which 
might be occupied by the Corning Clock." 

From this time forward, this name was uniformly given to the large clock 
for mean time, — although previously it may have been applied to both, 
indiscriminately, by Dr. Armsby. That I had myself applied the name 
only to this one, from the first, appears by the extract which the Accusers 
have so adroitly garbled, as shown in § 17, page 195. 

In my remarks at the Inauguration, (pamphlet, pp. 29, 30,) will be 
found this sentence : 

" Dials in every room will telegraphically record the time indicated by the 
normal clock imbedded in the massive pier below; while the Corning clock 
sends out the corresponding mean or civil time." 

This same Corning Clock was then telegraphically connected with a dial 
on the platform near me, and on page 32 of the Inauguration-pamphlet 
will be found the sentence in which the Accusers, on page 27 of their 
" Statement," infamously charge me with untruthfulness. 

" The clocks Avill be sending their mystic signals to all the dials, even as the 
Corning clock now ticks above_my head." 

The Accusing Trustees knew perfectly well that the mean-time clock at 
the Observatory was then, and since, known as the Corning Clock. They 
took no exception to my reference to it under this name at the Inaugura- 
tion in August, 1856. But now, two years after I did so, they deliber- 
ately accuse me on this score of " a most unenviable indifference to truth." 
Compounding a felony is an indictable offence in morals as well as in law. 
The charge brought against me for my alleged want of truth, in this par- 
ticular, is now made for the first time, though two years have elapsed since 
the offence is charged to have been committed, and though the Accusers 
must have been since then familiar with what they term the facts. 



214 

To aid in their attempted perversion the Authors of the pamphlet have 
prefixed this word "Corning" before "Clock" wherever they allude to the 
normal clock, as on pages 11, 15, and elsewhere; they have even done so 
on page 13 (at the bottom) in a connection which compels them to stultify 
themselves by talking as if they actually supposed that the 

"Trains on every railroad centering in Albany, would govern their move- 
ments, and start from their every station, by the click of" a sidereal clock!! 

30. Mr. Olcotfs Donation. 

Mr. Olcott states, page 27, that in September, 1856, he made a donation 
«of $10,000. I was sc informed by Dr. Armsby at the time ; and, in a let- 
ter written soon after, expressed my admiration at such munificence, in 
language which is published in the " Statement," p. 27, in an altered 
form, as exhibiting what they call " expressions of gratitude" 

It did seem to me to be a noble act of liberality to contribute so large a 
sum, and at a time when it was likely to be so thoroughly overshadowed 
by Mrs. Dudley's larger gift ; and I gave utterance without stint, both in 
spoken and in written words, to the sentiments of respect which it engen- 
dered. 

But what a contrast is presented by the reality ! It is now understood 
that these " ten thousand dollars " were ten " six per cent Bonds " of the 
N. Y. Central Railroad, worth at the time exactly $8825. Mrs. Dudley 
asserts that, by declarations to the effect that others would not contribute 
handsomely unless he did so himself, and that his means did not permit 
this, — Mr. Olcott obtained very large subsidiary aid from her toward the 
ten thousand dollars, which he says he gave. Mr. Olcott was at the time 
Mrs. Dudley's financial agent, although he was soon afterward dismissed ; 
and I am informed that even her check-books show that he received from 
her, as a gratuity, at or about this time moneys to the amount of $4000. 

If even so much be demonstrable by documents, it will show a large fall- 
ing off in Mr. Olcott's contribution. If not, it is at least capable of proof 
that he claimed then, and claims now, on p. 27 of the "Statement," which 
he has signed, and which he procured to be written, the credit of having 
made a donation of ten thousand dollars, when, in fact, he gave a much 
smaller sum; and he now insults his benefactress, and the widow of his 
benefactor, by publicly impeaching her capacity for business. 

See page 93 of the " Statement," and §107 of this Detailed Refutation. 

31. Quotations on pages 28 and 29. 
On these pages are three alleged extracts from three letters of Prof. 
Bache, relating to conferring upon me the official temporary charge or 



215 

directorship of the preparatory work and operations at the Observatory. 
It is needless for me to say that I never saw or knew of them until I saw 
them in the " Statement." But I will add that the suggestion they con- 
tain was repeatedly acted upon by the two managers, and declined by me, 
although I afterwards unsuccessfully made a short experiment. 

There are three other alleged quotations, the mutilation of which I will 
here expose : 

From the " Statement of the Trus- What I wrote to Dr. Armsbxj. 

tees," p. 28. Ellsworth, Maine, 185G, Sept. 16. 

On the 16th of September, Dr. Gould Yesterday I sent letters to Dr. 
wrote to the Trustees that he had ar- Peters and to one of the young men 
ranged for a youth, in the employ of AT hom I had left at Cambridge ,— au- 
the United States Coast Survey, to thorising the latter to go to the aid of 
come to Albany to assist Dr. Peters. Dr. P. for a fortnight, in Albany, and 
He says: asking the Dr. to arrange for his ac- 

" The youth is a mere boy — only sev- commodation. The youth is a mere 
enteen, or thereabouts — but ready to boy, only 17 or thereabouts, and ready 
aid in any way he can, and so, I doubt to aid in any way he can,— so I doubt 
not, will be of some service to Dr. Peters." not that he will be of service to Dr. P. 

This "mere boy," only seventeen 
years of age, is one of the young gentle- 
men on the hill. He is now pronounced, 
after the lapse of two years, not only 
a finished astronomer, but to be over 
twenty-one years of age. 

The changes here are small, but effective ; and illustrate the delibera- 
tion with which the alterations were planned and carried out, and the total 
want of moral scruple in their eminent author. " And " is changed into 
" but" and the word " some" is inserted and italicised ! The motive is 
manifest ; it elevates " Dr. Peters,." and depreciates " the youth," who, 
as my associate, is the object of their dislike. It is also implied that the 
transfer of the latter to Albany was intended to be permanent, and was 
for aiding Dr. Peters in Observatory ivork, which is untrue. This is done 
to gratify the ambition of Dr. Peters, so frequently shown, to figure as a 
11 chief" with "assistants under him." 

The " youth" alluded to was Mr. Winslow, my friend and assistant for 
nearly four years. It is not true that he has been pronounced, by myself 
or by the • Council, either a "finished astronomer" or "over twenty-one 
years of age ;" but it is true that his attainments, zeal and conscientious- 
ness, as well as his generous and unpaid devotion to the Observatory, 
entitle him to very different treatment from that which he has received 
from men double and treble his seniors in age, but greatly his inferiors in 
truthfulness, honesty, attainments and intellect. 

The second of these quotations is the following : 



216 



From the lt Statement of the Trus- 
tees," p. 28. 

In reference to the location of the 
building, Dr. Gould wrote as follows: 

" As for the location of the house, of 
course you will judge. My views were 
simply founded on personal opinion. 
"Whatever you decide on, I will aid to 
the best of my ability. When you ask 
for my opinion, I give it without reserve, 
and without any intention of taking it 
amiss, if you decide otherwise." 



What I wrote to Dr. Armsby. 
Cambridge, 1856, Oct. 21. 

As for the location of the house, of 
course you will judge, and my views 
were founded merely upon personal 
opinion of general principles 

Do not understand me as opposing 
your wishes, my dear Doctor. — I al- 
most thought from your last sen- 
tence that you did. Whatever you 
decide on, I will aid to the best of my 
power. When you ask me to give 
the results of my experience, I do it 
without reserve, without any intention 
of taking it amiss if you decide other- 
wise. But don't suppose that all these 
things have not been very thoroughly 
simmered over in my brains. 

The two paragraphs in the second column above are from different 
parts and different pages of the real letter. The great mutilation cannot 
fail to be apparent at the first glance, as also the motive. 

The third quotation is this : 
From the 



" Statement of the Trus- 
tees," p. 29. 
In October, Dr. Gould wrote to the 
President : 

"Mr. Clark brought in his bill to-day 
for $250, for the comet seeker. I have 
approved it and sent it to you." 

The bill was immediately paid. 



What I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 
1856, Oct. 16. 



Mr. Clark brought in his bill to-day 
for $250 for the comet-seeker, and I 
have approved it and told him to send 
it to you. I suppose this was the pro- 
per course." 

In a letter addressed to General Yan Rensselaer, 1856, Oct. 25, Mr. 

Olcott applied to him to contribute an additional piece of land west of the 

Observatory. He wrote : 

" The plans for Dr. Gould's house are drawn, and we want to decide upon 
its location on Monday if possible. And Dr. Gould prefers, and it is for the 
good of the Observatory that the house should be west of our present grounds. 
Dr. Gould is quite anxious on this subject." 

This barefaced assertion was in the face of my continued and earnest 
recommendation, that the proposed house should be on the northeast. 
The house, which forms one of Mr. Olcott's " large buildings," of the 
picture, (§99) was another and earlier idea. 

The palpable motive of the change here is to make me appear to be 
acting as a financial agent of " t'he Trustees." The letter was not to the 
President, but to Mr. Olcott, the letters to whom are quite as badly gar- 
bled as those to Dr. Armsby. 

32. The Professorship in Columbia College. 
This is among those charges brought against me by Mr. Olcott at the 
meeting of the Trustees, June 26, in order to form pretexts for the action 



217 

of the Board at that time, and which, though fully answered by the Scientific 
Council, have been reproduced by my Accusers in their " Statement" pp. 
29, 147, without any allusion to this refutation. The accusation is that 
one of the reasons for my so-called delay in coming to Albany, was that 
I was a candidate for a " more lucrative" (!!) Professorship in Columbia 
College, which Mr. Olcott was pleased to call a rival institution. The 
Accusers take no notice whatever of the full refutation of the assertion 
given by the Council [Defence, § 6], but repeat the charge with unblush- 
ing effrontery (" Statement," p. 29). To give as much detail as possible, they 
even assert (p. 147) that the salary attached to the position in question, 
was $5000, — although no Professor in Columbia College receives, even 
now, a larger salary than $4000. At the time to which the Trustees 
refer the salaries were very much lower than at present, the available 
means of the College being then much smaller. 

To nail this base coin once for all to the bank counter from which it 
issued, I give here a letter from the President of Columbia College, written 
in answer to one addressed to him by an intimate personal friend of 
mine, asking a point-blank question as to the matter at issue, between the 
Trustees and the Scientific Council. 

President's Room, Columbia College ; 

New York, 10th Nov., 1858. 
My Dear Sir — In answer to your inquiry, I state that Dr. Gould never 
directly or indirectly — so far as I have means of knowing — was an applicant 
for the Chair of Astronomy in this Institution, or any other Chair; — and if 
such application had been made, it must have been brought to my knowledge, 
either as member of the Board of Trustees of the College, or as the President 
of the College. 

I am, dear Sir, yours very truly, 

CHARLES KING, 
Dr. Wolcott Gibbs. President Columbia College. 

Those who desire to learn more of this matter are referred to the 
" Defence of Dr. Gould by the Scientific Council." The Accusers do not 
think proper to bring forward the evidence upon which their assertion in 
regard to the Professorship is based. The inference is obvious. 

To sum up the whole matter, I was never an applicant, and never 
knowingly a candidate, for any office, post, or professorship in any College 
or University on earth. Whatever invitations may have been given me in 
reference to such positions, have been given without application, direct or 
indirect, on my part. The time has never yet been when I was disposed 
to accept any offer of the kind, nor did I ever, except in a single instance, 
(long before I ever heard of the Dudley Observatory), take any one into 
serious consideration. 

No invitation was ever tendered me by Columbia College, and no 
15 



218 

application was ever made by me, or, so far as I am aware, by my 
friends, for any office under that institution. Even the incidents alluded 
to by the Council, in the passage above cited, took place without my 
knowledge. When I gave ear to the plausible persuasions of Dr. Arnisby, 
I occupied a position and possessed a home, agreeable in every respect, — 
one which nothing, other than a sense of duty or an opportunity of much 
larger usefulness, could have induced me to change. These inducements 
came, as I thought ; and I gave pledges, the fulfilment of which brought 
me to Albany. 

The allusion to a " more lucrative position," as having tempted me to 
violate my duties, comes, apart from its total and known falsity, with a 
strange grace from men in behalf of whose institution I had labored gra- 
tuitously at large sacrifices of time, money and health, for three years. 

33. The Directorship. 

The three quotations from Prof. Bache's letters, given in the " State- 
ment," pages 28 and 29, contain suggestions relative to conferring the full 
official charge of the preparatory work at the Observatory upon me ; and 
I have briefly alluded to them in §31. Whether these alleged extracts 
are or are not correct, I do not know, — not having compared them with 
copies. These propositions were made without my knowledge or conni- 
vance, and it has been already stated that the full charge, or directorship, 
of the preparation and equipment of the Observatory, was frequently urged 
upon my acceptance, by Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, and accompanied by 
offers of salary, but declined. The apparent motive of my Accusers for 
inserting these extracts seems to have been to convey the idea that Prof. 
Bache, my friend and colleague in the Council and my superior officer in 
the Government service, was manoeuvering in my behalf to secure for me 
a coveted position. 

Prof. Bache was prompted in thus writing, as I am now aware, by the 
serious confusion and calamities which seemed to threaten the Observatory 
from the ill-judged and reckless management of Dr. Armsby, — who, 
while exercising the real control over matters of detail, and constantly 
disposed to act in opposition to my advice, could not with delicacy be 
restrained or overruled. I had appealed to him in a friendly way on 
numerous occasions, but as he always contrived to transfer the apparent 
blame to some other person, these appeals were fruitless. On two occa- 
sions I wrote confidential letters to Mr. Olcott, informing him of the 
embarrassments likely to be occasioned by his colleague's meddlesomeness 
and love of managing small affairs ; and on one other occasion Professor 
Bache, meeting him in New York, also remonstrated with him orally at 



219 

my request. The two great troubles were the incurring of large expenses 
for purposes not desirable, and the continual interference (unknown until 
too late) with matured plans — in order to produce some scenic effect, or to 
gratify his, not very refined, taste and love of glare. 

As to the matter of the permanent directorship I desire to place a few 
extracts from the documents of my assailants in juxtaposition. 

On page 146 of their " Statement," the Accusers say: 

"Upon this subject, his Defenders hold the following language : 

' He (Dr. Gould) had given no pledge that he would permanently accept the 
office of Director previous to the completion of the endowment; the only pre- 
sumption that he would accept it after that condition had been fulfilled, arose 
from the zeal he had manifested in the cause.' 

In this statement the Trustees concur. Dr. Gould had not accepted the office 
of Director. It had not been tendered to him. He was under no obligations 
to accept it, nor were the Trustees under any obligations to confer it upon 
him." 

Yet, as early as 1856, Oct. 27, Mr. Olcott writes me as follows : 

"I embrace the occasion for handing inclosed, to say that my letter to 

was seed sown on good ground, and has taken root with a promise of harvest, 
but to what extent is not yet known. . . . 

If Mr. in the meantime writes him, it no doubt will add to the dimensions 

of your possessions as Director of the Dudley Observatory." 

Mr. Olcott writes again, 1857, Jan. 6 : 

" The inclosed letter shows that astronomical science, though a child of the 

skies, has yet a sort of local habitation somewhere near Cambridge. Mr. 

from New Haven, says we must succeed and gain laurels, with you at our 
head. 5 ' 

And yet again, 1857, Oct. 1 : 

" We are willing to sink or swim with a Henry, a Peirce, a Bache and a 
Gould, as the only chance of immortalizing ourselves in this world. Therefore 
we submit this question to your decision. We hardly dare ask you to take up 
your residence at the Observatory, though we think it would insure our suc- 
cess." 

It will be borne in mind by the reader, that this was written by Mr. 
Olcott subsequent to all the alleged offences on my part, which had made 
" the Trustees " determined, as Mr. Olcott now says, to " get rid" of me 
in January ! 

Finally, let me quote from Mr. Olcott's own Manifesto of 1858, June 26 : 

"Dr. Gould, our contemplated astronomer-in-chief, was behind no one in 
the manifestations of joyous anticipations. To him was confided the entire 
direction of affairs at the Observatory, to the minutest particulars appertaining 
to its alterations, erections, improvements and equipments." 

And again : 

" The Committee discovered in 1857 an unaccountable abatement of zeal on 
the part of Dr. Gould — not only a reluctance to come on and take charge of 
the Observatory, but a strange disposition to put off mounting the instruments 
and to delay progress in general." 



220 

How singular that a man, to whom the Direction had not been offered, 
(as the Accusers allege on page 146 of their " Statement,") should be 
blamed for manifesting such " reluctance to come on and take charge of 
the Observatory !" 

34. The Tabulating Engine. 

The true history of the calculating engine and its purchase for the 
Observatory has been given in the First Part, Chapter VI., $ 8 [p. 137.] 
My duty is here only to expose the falsehoods of my Accusers. Page 30 
of their "Statement," together with part of the preceding and following 
pages is devoted to an attempt to throw discredit upon me in this con- 
nection. That Mr. John F. Kathbone should have joined in the effort is 
most humiliating, and would be astonishing, were I not prepared for any- 
thing by the various lessons of this whole transaction. 

My Accusers say (pages 29, 30) : 

" About this time,* Dr. Gould urged the Trustees to purchase a calculating 
machine." 

''Neither Transit, Meridian-circle, Chronographs, Clocks or Dials, in all of 
which large investments had been already made, were received. 5 ' 

c< Nothing was in working order." 

" They could not always repress the regret and disappointment they felt, 
that, as yet, so little that was visible or practical, had been accomplished." 

" Still, they retained their confidence in Dr. Gould, and gave their consent 
that he should purchase ' the calculating machine.' " 

" Although the funds of the Observatory scarcely justified the expense." 

What a display of untruthful assertions furnished by fourteen and a 
half consecutive lines of the " Statement!" 

I never " urged" the purchase. 

The chronograph and the Corning clock had been received at the time. 

Both were in working order. 

No " regret" or " disappointment," such as they allege, had ever been 
manifested, at least to me or to any member of the Scientific Council. 

No "consent" was asked, and, therefore, it could not be "given." 

The machine was a special gift. 

I annex such evidence upon these points as has not been given elsewhere. 

From a letter of Mr. Olcott, 1856, Oct. 31. 

" Dr. Armsby is full of the calculating machine, about which you have writ- 
ten. I have said to him that with Rathbone's consent and your approval, we 
would risk diverting his $5000 from the general purposes of the Observatory, 

to this particular object And if this machine will multiply his 

fame to a result equal to his merit, I would rather that he should have the 
credit of its purchase." 

* October. 1856. 



221 

If the machine has not multiplied and tabulated his fame to an amount 
equal to the wishes of Mr. Rathbone's most ardent friends, it has not 
been my fault. How could lie unite in this wicked attempt to destroy me? 

From another letter of Mr. Olcott, 1850, Xov. 5. 

"Mr. Rathbone consents to have his subscription apply to the purchase of 
the calculating engine, if you recommend it. I hope therefore that you have 
written for the refusal of it" 

From a third litter of Mr. Olcott, 1856. Nov. 10. 

" Why not make the purchase at once of the calculating machine ? I would 
suggest that you authorise Mr. Pabbage to do it, provided he can do so at the 
price named. Otherwise our negotiations, if known, may create competition." 

From Letters of Dr. Jfrmsby. 

1856, Oct. 30. " I have received your letter and parcel relating to the Calcu- 
lating machine Mr Corning I have no doubt would purchase it 

but he does not yet deserve the honor it would confer upon him. I called on 
him to-day, immediately on the receipt of your parcel, and enquired if he saw 

the machine in Paris 1 said I desired to talk with him on the 

subject, when he was at leisure. 

Would it not give eclat and honor to the Observatory, that would be worth 
more than its cost to us ? T think it would. Is it the only machine of the kind 
in the world, except that of Babbage," &c, &c. ? 

1856, Nov. 4. "Mr. Olcott has communicated our decision, with regard to 
the calculating machine, to you. Since that time Mr. Rathbone has returned 
and is willing to have his $5,000 thus directed, if we desire it." 

1856, Nov. 4. " I would not delay action a moment in relation to the calcu- 
lating machine." 

The responsibility of having recommended this machine I willingly 
accept. As narrated on page 140, I desired that the nascent Observatory 
should signalize itself by the acquisition. I intentionally excited Dr. 
Armsby's interest on the subject by sending him information and docu- 
ments which I procured for the purpose. But I left the proposition for 
the purchase to come from members of the Board of Trustees, for the 
reason that I did not choose to assume any responsibility of a financial 
character. 

The Accusers give, on page 30, two extracts from my letters, both 
which are changed from the originah It would seem as though the words 

" It is a long cherished hope of mine," 
formed a sentence too simple to permit of any falsification, but the adroit 
and wily author has contrived to do this, by repeating the word " long " 
thus adding greatly to the intensity of the expression. 

They go on to clothe two falsehoods in the garb of truth when they say 
of the machine : 

" It arrived in April, 1857, but was laid aside for more than twelve months 
when it brought forth a column of printed figures;" 



222 

for, while the words are true, they convey the intimation that the machine 
might have been sooner used, and that it brought forth only a column. 
And yet, in the " Defence," § 30, the Council had stated, six weeks before, 
that a complete set of tables of the True Anomaly of Mars for every tenth 
of a day had already been computed, the general formulas fully developed, 
and a special assistant employed {not "at Coast Survey expense") upon the 
work. To Mr. Olcott and Mr. Eathbone I had carried samples of the 
work, thinking that it would interest them, and I had urged them to visit 
the Observatory and see the machine in operation. 

The sentence is finished by my Accusers with the words : 

" And the Trustees were charged two hundred dollars for bringing it into 
use." 

The audacious falsity of this declaration will be felt by the reader who 
remembers that the Trustees have never paid one cent for bringing it into use. 
In my original letter of 1858, Jan. 21, proposing the mode of distribution 
of the promised balance from the State, — a letter written at the request of 
Mr. Olcott after the matter had been thoroughly discussed with him, although 
on page 70 my Accusers have made this, like everything else, a ground 
of attack — I had named the sum of $200 for bringing this instrument 
into convenient use by the introduction of certain modifications advised by 
the makers. This appropriation was made by the Executive Committee, 
March 5, though no notice of it was given me by the Secretary until 
extorted by my application to the President, March 10. Upon examina- 
tion I found that it could be worked with more facility than I had sup- 
posed, and owing to the embarrassed state of the finances, decided not to 
make these changes. The only expenses actually incurred for bringing 
the machine into use amount to about $15, chiefly for a few implements 
and tools, — and these were paid by me personally, and not by the Trustees, 
none of whom were even informed that this slight outlay had been incurred. 

So much for these men's accusations relative to the Calculating Engine. 

35. The Transit-Instrument. 
We have here, on page 31, a second attempt to make it appear that the 
large transit-instrument was the instrument which Prof. Bache, in 1855, 
promised to lend to the Observatory ; whereas it is easily demonstrable 
from his letter that he referred to such an instrument as is now mounted 
in the longitude station, having been placed at the Observatory in July, 
1855. Instead of giving Prof. Bache some credit for desiring to do more 
than he promised, an attempt is made in this misstatement to show that he 
did not fulfil the pledge he gave ! These are very small points to mis- 
represent ! But it is the aggregation of such small misrepresentations 



223 

which has given the "Statement" any force which it may possess, apart 
from that derived from the garbling, perversion and falsification of pre- 
tended quotations. 

The large transit-instrument which is " in its boxes," was not mounted 
because the cost of doing so was three or four times that of mounting an 
instrument quite as effective for all the present uses of the Observatory. 
In a spirit of economy, quite opposed to that spirit of extravagance 
charged by the majority, I did not recommend the mounting of the larger 
instrument, — since the small one was mounted and adjusted for the longi- 
tude-observations in March, was in excellent working order, and entirely 
adequate for all requisite purposes. The Executive Committee appro- 
priated the means which I had not asked, for mounting the larger instru- 
ment ; — doing this, either in a spirit of waste or to give me annoyance. 

To put up so costly an instrument, when from the nature of the case it 
could only be employed for purposes which the smaller instrument already 
in use was perfectly adequate to accomplish, would, in my judgement, have 
been both "injudicious" and "reckless." 

36. Appeal for Endowment. 

On pages 31 and 32 the Accusers speak of the efforts to increase the 
endowment, — efforts which it is implied were confined to New York city, 
although large sums were in fact contributed elsewhere, — and of which 
it is carefully remarked that " Messrs. Olcott and Armsby conceived the 
purpose." And they farthermore say: 

" Although the funds of the Observatory already exceeded anything that had 
originally been contemplated, yet these efforts to increase the endowment, were 
deemed essential, in consequence of the repeated assurances of Dr. Gould, that 
more funds were required to secure the objects of the Observatory." 

The boldness of men who could make the latter assertion, after having 
published the letters of the Council of Aug. 8 and Aug. 11, 1856, (the 
one in their Inauguration-pamphlet, and the other in a special pamphlet, 
printed and disseminated in New York to aid in the appeal,) needs no 
comment. That no attempt at active operations should be made until 
an endowment should be secured capable of yielding at least $10,000 
annually, was the primary condition upon which the Council agreed in 
August, 1855, to assume any connection with the institution. This under- 
standing had been kept steadily in view since that time. On the 6th of 
November, 1856, only a week before the time referred to in the passage 
just cited, Dr. Armsby had written me " We will have the $150,000." 
But, now, in order to afford room for the absurd charge of " delay," this 
condition is unblushingly ignored and denied, although continually 



224 

acknowledged in the letters, and repeatedly in the printed publications, 
of these very men, Olcott and Armsby, themselves. 

On these pages two extracts are given ; the one from a letter of Prof. 
Bache, the other from one of mine. Of the correctness or falsity of the 
former I know nothing; but my own is garbled. " More anxious " is 
dexterously altered into "most anxious," thereby changing the mean- 
ing ; — one sentence is omitted from the middle of the passage, — and in the 
sentence " the only one I have found," "7" is changed into " we ! " 

The quoted extract ends abruptly, thus avoiding anything inconsist- 
ent with my Accusers' false charge of " wasteful expenditure." I will 
continue the paragraph as written by me to Dr. Armsby, 1856, Nov. 14 : 

" About the improvements on the hill, my feeling has been that, while we were 
unwilling to run in debt or endanger the capital even for a library, we should 
be economical in minor affairs. My suggestion would be to scrape together 
everything you can lay hands on, and only use income, — even for permanent 
work; — restricting or delaying at first to add income to principal, rather than 
the reverse. Do not forget that the $10,000 estimate pre-supposes an eye to 
the pence, and that 50 per cent more might be judiciously employed to the great 
advantage of the Observatory, without any fear of extravagance. And that 
whatever is laid out now is taken from the capital. The next appeal will have 
to be for books." 

It will be recollected that all these appeals were made, and the funds 
contributed, for the " endowment ," though it now appears that the money 
was expended about as fast as it was paid ia. The omission of the para- 
graph bearing on this point, as well as the other from Mr. Low's letter, 
[" Statement," pp. 34, 35,] is noticed on page 228. 

37. The New York Times. 

On page 32 an attempt is made to create hostility to Prof. Bache on 
the part of the Editor of this influential newspaper ; an attempt which would 
seem to have been successful, from the acrimony with which the paper 
has attacked both him and myself. To produce this result, a passage is 
extracted from a letter of Prof. Bache relating to another subject (dis- 
connected from Observatory matters), and made to apply to the article 
of the N. Y. Times advocating the very laudable enterprise of an 
Observatory in that city also. The small jealousy of other scientific 
institutions, which has pervaded the acts of Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, 
and which is manifest in their talk about "rival institutions" — as though 
other scientific enterprises ought to be checked to render their own more 
conspicuous, — has been noticeable from the first ; and it has frequently 
been pleasantly chided since our intercourse began. But nothing was 
more natural than for them to attribute to others the same narrowness 
of mind. To do this, however, the Accusers have found it necessary to 
perpetrate another fraud ; — by extracting this passage from a private let- 
ter of Prof. Bache relative to an article which had appeared, attacking 
the U. S. Coast Survey ! 

The letter was in no sense official and not even relating to the Obser- 
vatory ; and yet the authors of the " Statement " say that 

" They have thought fit to confine themselves to matters relating directly to 
the Dudley Observatory, and have availed themselves only of such letters as are 



225 

strictly of an official character, carefully abstaining from all reference to such 
as might by any possibility, be regarded as confidential, (pp. 163, 104.) 

Could malignity go farther than this in distortion and misrepresenta- 
tion ? Injury to a public work which has done and is doing so much 
for New York city, the great commercial center of our country, and for 
the State of which it is the commercial focus, is actually invoked in 
order to reach an individual member of the Scientific Council, — which 
had incurred the displeasure of Mr. Olcott by vindicating the good name 
of the object of his bitter persecution. Two pamphlets of matter 
'addressed to the Editor of the Times, and venomously attacking the 
Coast Survey, have recently been published, and widely distributed by 
Mr. Olcott. The second, however, to the credit of the journal be it 
said, never appeared in its columns. 

38. Mr. Everett's Address — Quotation on page 33. 

The petty endeavor to create unkind feeling or odium, by the publica- 
tion of a garbled, distorted and partially fabricated copy of a letter 
written by me, relative to the correct spelling of certain proper names in 
Mr. Everett's address, has been already exposed in the First Part of this 
Reply, — (pages 31-34,) where it was used in illustration of the Perver- 
sions by the Accusers. By the use of gross falsehoods in introducing 
the letter, by garbling, by interpolation of words adapted to convey 
an offensive impression, and by so adroitly italicising particular words 
and phrases as to change the whole tone: — the authors of the pamphlet 
thought that this letter could advantageously be brought into their 
attack, although entirely foreign to the maintenance of any of their charges. 

In concluding their commentary, they say 

" The Trustees did not feel authorized to make any changes in Mr. Everett's 
oration at Dr. Gould's request." 

If anything more can be needed from me to characterize this proceed- 
ing of the Accusers, it will be afforded when I state that the suo-o-es- 
tions to Dr. Armsby, in this letter of Oct. 11, were made at his request. 

39. Telegraph wire to New York. 

The comments upon page 34 of the " Statement" relative to the pas- 
sage from my letter of 1856, Dec. 31, cited at the bottom of the preceding 
page, afford one of the most striking illustrations of misrepresentation 
and unprincipled distortion which are to be found in the whole pamphlet. 
The extract itself, however, is one of the eight exceptional extracts 
already mentioned, upon which neither garbling, mutilation nor fabrica- 
tion have been employed. 

This subject of the telegraph wire has been already fully explained 
both in Part First [pp. 155, 156] and in § 15. The fact that a new 
wire, — not a new line, as the Accusers intimate on page 34, — was con- 
sidered a pre-requisite when the plan of sending time to New York city 
was formed, and formed a part of those appliances which that city 
was to provide previously to putting the plan into operation, cannot be 



226 

so successfully denied as my Accusers seem to suppose. For the original 
paper, on which the estimates were made in the first discussion of the 
subject between Mr. Olcott and myself, a year previous, still exists. 
And in the letter to the gentlemen who urged the plan upon the accep- 
tance of the N. Y. City Government, — sent at the same time the original 
proposition was transmitted to the Mayor by Messrs. Yan Rensselaer, 
Olcott, Bache and myself — the same thing stands in uneffaceable black 
and white. 

And yet these shameless Accusers now have the effrontery to say : 

. 

' c The necessity for a new telegraph line, from Albany to New York, was, 
to the Trustees, a startling proposition. It created great surprise. Certainly 
it could not have entered into Dr. Gould's calculation, when he so confidently 
promised that the time should be transmitted regularly to New York city, and 
to all the railroads, on and after the 28th day of the preceding August." 

They say this although Mr. Olcott had written me, 1857, Jan. 6 : 

" We must get the corporation of New York to act and lay the wires before 
we can drop a ball there;" — 

and although Dr. Armsby had notified me as follows, 1856, Jan. 9 : 

" The letters to the Western and Hudson River Railroads will be delayed a 
short time, until more accurate estimates can be made in regard to the cost of 
telegraph wires, &c.;" 

and had also written, 1857, Jan. 6 : 

" The work of collecting small subscriptions must be done by an agent. We 
think of sending Mr. Hague down for the purpose; and to attend also to the 
adoption of the time-signals by the Common Council. I do not believe any thing 
can be done with the Common Council until considerable lobbying is done. Mr. 
H. has some friends who will assist him, and he will not be known as our agent 
in that matter 

All we now desire is to have this thing settled, and then we can take our own 
time to perfect the arrangements. 

You must not allow your kind feelings toward us to influence you i$ hasten- 
ing the completion of your own work now on hand, or induce you to overwork 
yourself as I know you have done heretofore. Take your own time; so far as 
we are concerned, your continued good health is far more important to us than 
a few months' time now." 

The fraud in the assertion of the Accusers consists not merely in the 
untruths that the telegraph wire to New York did not enter into the 
original calculations, that it "was to the Trustees a startling proposi- 
tion," and that it created great surprise a year afterwards. Nor yet 
is the sly change of the word "wire" into "line 1 '' the only other 
fraud; but they convey the idea also in support of their charge of 
11 wasteful expenditures," that the expense was to be borne by the 
Dudley Observatory. 

It is shocking to have to deal with such assertions, and with such men. 
It is the most revolting duty of my whole life, to deal with men possess- 
ing the shamelessness, the dishonesty and the low pettifoggers' cunning 
which could condense all this mass of falsehood, and still another untruth 
about " confidently promised," into the first seven lines of their thirty- 
fourth page. 



227 

40. The Credit of obtaining Subscriptions* 

I have already called attention, in § 26, to the falsity of the denial of 
Mr. Olcott and his coadjutors, that the Scientific Council had been 
instrumental in procuring donations to the Observatory. Would that 
the denial were correct, for in that case those pledges would not have 
existed, for the fulfilment of which the members of the Council have 
struggled against such obstacles. In that case, too, much of my own 
suffering might have been spared ; — and the easy part chosen of aban- 
doning the institution to its threatened fate in the hands of Messrs. 
Olcott and Armsby. 

The question is not as to the " credit of obtaining these subscrip- 
tions," — Mr. Olcott is welcome to all he desires and can obtain ; — 
although most minds are so constituted that they would award the 
"credit" to the donors. But it is, and has been, a question of 
pledges to be maintained ; of faith to be preserved inviolate ; of a sacred 
trust to be defended. 

The Accusers, on page 126, in a passage filled with sneers and attempts 
at sarcasm, say, as has already once been quoted, that 

"The Trustees cannot persuade themselves that a single dollar has been 
obtained for the Observatory, ' by the use of the name ' or ' the pledge of the 
management ' of the Scientific Council. Such is not the fact." 

And in the part of their " Statement" now under consideration, they 

say 

" The year 1857 opened with a gratifying increase of subscriptions, secured 
mainly through the energy of the President and Secretary of the Board of 
Trustees. As others have claimed the credit of obtaining these subscriptions, 
it may be as well to give a few of the letters received about this time:" 

and then proceed to give alleged letters from five different donors, in 
proof of the assertion. 

Mr. Olcott was at the time not the President, but the Vice President 
of the Board, although the little piece of conceit by which he speaks of him- 
self throughout the " Statement" as the President, may be overlooked. 

I will first give extracts from certain letters of his own ; and then 
speak of those which he quotes from others : 

1856, Nov. 24. " Professors Bache and Henry were efficient. They argued 
for two days before the Board of Underwriters, which secured us their unani- 
mous commendation to the mercantile community. We have arranged to have 

the action of the Board of Commerce about ten days hence We 

were advised not to make any considerable effort till the action of the Board of 
Commerce was first had. Since my return home I have read a letter from Mr. 
A. A. Low, a merchant in New York, stating " the interest with which he had 
read the documents sent to him, containing the speech of Mr. Everett and the 
remarks of Prof. Bache and Dr. Gould," and authorising us to draw on him for 
$1,000. Such a voluntary offer is cheering. We had not called upon him 
at all." 

1856, Dec. 8. " The Board of Underwriters and Chamber of Commerce 
have done all and even more than you asked. You have, I presume, seen their 
resolutions." 

1856, Dec. 25. " We carried our subscriptions in New York, including those 
previously made, to a little over $5,000. The New York Committee have 



228 

issued a circular, under their own names, appealing strongly in our behalf to 
their fellow citizens." 

The five alleged letters given by Mr. Olcott and his fellow accusers, 
on pages 34 and 35, are professedly for the purpose of showing that he, 
and he only, was entitled to what he calls " the credit of obtaining these 
subscriptions." But these letters show no such thing. And besides, 
some of them appear to have undergone considerable change in the 
hands of the Accusers. 

It will not be imagined that I have access to the letter books or " press- 
copies " of these donors, if indeed they preserved any copies ; nor yet 
that I have been favored with the originals. But in the month of June, 
1857, Mr. Olcott and seventeen other Albanians, friends of the Observa- 
tory, published a little pamphlet, appealing for funds. In the introduce 
tion they say 

" The enterprise is national in its design, 'as it will be in its benefits, and it 
should have the co-operation of every section of the country." 

and they then go on in the little 16mo. book of 22 pages, to give sundry 
letters and remarks of friends and donors to the institution, together 
with the Council's letter and schedule of August 11, 1856. Three of 
the letters cited on pages 34 and 35 of the " Statement," or extracts 
from them, are given in this little pamphlet. The discrepancies discov- 
ered on comparison are, in every case, considerable. For example, Mr. 
Low's letter, as given in the small pamphlet, expressly declares his gift 
to be a contribution " to the funds from which it [the Observatory] is 
expected to derive its annual support." This, as well as the allusion to 
the contents of the document which had interested him, is conveniently 
omitted in the " Statement." 

But the point to which I wish to call attention, mainly, is that in 
every instance, without exception, these contributors had before them, 
not merely solicitations from Mr. Olcott, — but documents prepared for the 
purpose, and which included communications from the Scientific Council, 
or some of its members. See also the extracts already given on pages 
184, 185. 

41. The Normal Clock again. 

Upon page 35 of their "Statement," the Accusers say ; 

" On the 2d of March, Dr. Gould, as if still anxious to keep up the courage 
and confidence of the Trustees, although no apparent progress was making, 
writes from Cambridge: "Everything seems to be going most satisfactorily, 
and hastening towards completion. I have heard from our clock, which w r as 
completed, all but the ' putting together. 5 " 

" Nearly a year and a half has since elapsed, and the clock has not yet been 
'put together!' " 

The non-arrival of the Normal Clock from Altona is repeatedly brought 
up by the Accusers, and forms the subject for very many sneers and 
insinuations against the donor or myself, besides those already answered. 
The subject has perhaps received all the notice it deserves from me, both 
in Part First and in § 11 and §29 of this, Part Second, and Mr. Corning 
has spoken for himself, in his letter to Mr. Thacher, given by the latter 
gentleman in his " Key to the 'Trustees' Statement,' " page 117. 



229 

I believe that it is neither violating the sanctity of private correspond- 
ence, nor making a use of the letter which its author would disapprove, 
when I take the liberty of here publishing a couple of paragraphs from 
a letter written me by Prof. Peters, of Altona, to whom " the Trus- 
tees" had sent a copy of their "Statement." It is but a specimen of 
many letters received from astronomers since the publication of this 
atrocious attempt to " crush ;" — letters which I shall " bequeath as a 
rich legacy " unto the kindred who may survive me. But I select it, 
because written by the astronomer who had kindly promised to test the 
clock when completed, — by the friend to whom I have repeatedly written 
concerning it since it was first ordered, — from Altona, where the writer 
had followed the construction through all its stages : — circumstances which 
form a sufficient commentary upon the contemptible sneer of the Accu- 
sers, on their 160th page, viz: 

" What more natural, if the clock was ever ordered, than to make some allu- 
sion to it, and some enquiries as to its progress, in a letter addressed to the 
very place where its maker resides ?" 

From a letter of Prof . Peters, Altona, 1858, Sept. 30. 

"I have read with intense indignation the pitiful attack upon you which they 
have printed. It is an old experience that makers of astronomical instruments 
and clocks almost never succeed in finishing them at the time previously 
expected and promised. Krille promised me a galvanic register for Sept. 1 of 
last year, and did not furnish it until June 1 of this year. But no competent 
person would conceive the idea of reproaching either him or me; because unfore- 
seen difficulties are always occurring in the construction of new instruments; 
and it is better to receive good instruments than the bad ones which result from 
an over-hasty construction. In your case, moreover, I know full well how 
much you have laid it to heart that the normal clock should be sent you as early 
as possible. 

In this special case of the normal clock, which you ordered of Krille, the 
separate parts of the clock were long since completed, but for carrying out this 
entirely new form of putting up in a hermetically sealed case, the needed means 
are wanting in consequence of the crisis," &c, &c. 

I stop in the middle of the letter, because its honored and generous 
writer goes on to speak regarding a personal subject upon which I have 
determined to dwell as little as possible. 

The sneer with which the Accusers close their paragraph is intended, 
either to imply censure upon me, for the maker's delay, or more probably, 
(taken in connection with their clause, page 160, "if the clock was ever 
ordered,") to intimate that, for some unknown reason connected with 
the " strange delays," I was pretending that the construction was pro- 
gressing, although the whole was a fiction. The latter theory, however 
absurd, is quite of a piece with the other theory that by " humiliating 
importunities" and " begging the Trustees to give me their votes," I 
obtained the charge of the Observatory in Jan., 1858, in order to mani- 
fest "a discreet unwillingness to test [my] skill as a practical astronomer !" 

But to understand the processes to which the evidence has been sub- 
jected, let us recur to the paragraph, as given at the beginning of this 
section, and consider it piece-meal : 

1. My letter was not written " on the 2d of March," but in June,— 
and thus three months are obtained to make out the " nearly a year and 
a half." 



230 



2. Two sentences are selected, the one from the beginning, the other 
from the end of a letter written upon other subjects, — the two lines about 
the clock having been added, like a postscript at the end, — and are then 
presented, as if relating to the same subject. 

3. The first of these sentences relates, not to the European instru- 
ments, but to the work in Albany, the city to which I was writing. I 
had, not long before, expressed annoyance at the "continual delays," — 
but as the prospects seemed to improve, thus expressed my satisfaction 
in the strictly private letter to Dr. Armsby, from which the extract is 
taken. 

4. The first sentence is mutilated by the omission of a clause which 
would conflict with the new meaning to be given by the Accusers. As 
written, it stood, (the omitted words being italicised :) 

" Everything seems, from the accounts of Dr. Peters and Mr. Smith, to be 
going on most satisfactorily, and hastening toward completion." 

42. Quotations on page 36. 

Though at some cost of space, I will reprint this page, excepting the 
last two lines, and place the true extracts from my letters in juxtaposition 
with the falsified ones : 



" Statement of the Trustees," p. 36. 

About . the same date, Dr. [ Gould 
writes: 

u I have been over-running my autho- 
rity, by purchasing the Philosophical 
Transactions of the Royal Society of 
London, from the Astor Library. I 
send by this mail a draft on you for 
$343.75, which includes the expenses of 
boxing." 

The draft, as usual, was immedi- 
diately paid; but the Observatory 
building was not then in order. 



A few days later, Dr. Gould writes: 
"I have drawn on you, in favor of 
Mr. Tanner, for $250. He came out, 
saying he was in need of money, sud- 
denly, to meet a note." 

The draft was immediately paid; 
but the money was not due, nor were 
the Chronographs or clocks finishd 
until May, 1858. 



What I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 
1857, March 28. 

I have been overrunning my autho- 
rity, and availing myself of an addi- 
tional chance, too good to be lost, of 
purchasing the series of the Philosophi- 
cal Transactions of the Royal Soc. 
of London, from the Astor Library, at 
a price scarcely more than nominal. 
And by this mail I send him a draft 
on you for $343.75, which includes 
the expenses of boxing these books for 
transportation. They need be the 
source of no uneasiness as to storage, 
as Dr. Cogswell will let them lie sub- 
ject to our order until we want them. 

I think they would bring $600 at 
auction without difficulty next week, 
and probably much more. 

1857, April 9. 
I write to say in haste that I have 
drawn on you in favor of Mr. Farmer 
for $250. He came out saying that 
he was in need of money suddenly to 
meet a note, and wanted us to stand 
in stead of some source which had sud- 
denly failed him. Very little now re- 
mains to complete the apparatus, and 
although I have held back till now, in 
order to spur him on, — the whole is so 
nearly completed that I felt no hesita- 
tion in giving him the draft. I sup- 
pose that the whole bill, when closed, 
may amount to 150 or 200 more, but 
cannot exceed this." 



231 

A few days later, he writes : 1857, April 14. 

" We shall have to be making com- I hope that it will not prove neccs- 
paratively heavy demands upon you sary to spend much upon grading or 
soon for the dome work, observing dressing the ground, until the tide 
chairs, &c, &c, which are essentials." begins "to rise again. We shall be 

wanting to make comparatively heavy 
demands for the dome-work; and then 

. . .. ,, ... the observing chairs, &c, &c.,— which 

At the same time it is proper to are essentials, 
state that Dr. Gould evinced commend- 
able interest in the pecuniary affairs of TTr , . T . . -. . 7 
the Institution; for, in one letter, he What I wrote to Br Armsby, 
asks: 185,, ^mU3. 

''How have your donations run up, How- have your donations run up 

since February 23d ?" since February 23d? And have any 

steps been taken about the Hamilton 

And in another, he anxiously in- Colle S e Instrument ? 

quires : 1857, March 24. 

" How come on the legislative appro- How come on the legislation, and 

priation and the donations ? Has there the donations? Has there been, &c. 
been anything more from New York, in 
the pecuniary line ?" 

43. The Continual Delay. 

This, one of the gravest charges, — and probably the only really grave 
one, except perhaps "Wasteful Expenditures," which will have found 
any credence among sensible men, — has been disposed of in Part First, — 
and requires, therefore, only an incidental allusion here. 

It has been shown 

That the delays in the construction were due to no fault of mine, and were 
the subject of my constant appeals. Abundant additional evidence from Dr. 
Armsby's and Air. Olcott's own letters, can at any time be adduced, if needed, 
in corroboration of this point, — as well as from letters of Messrs. Hodgins, 
Smith, Hague and Peters . 

That the delays in the construction of the instruments were due to no fault 
of mine, and were the subject of constant appeals. Abundant additional evi- 
dence from letters of the makers, Messrs. Pistor and Martins, Krille, Spencer, 
and Farmer, can at any time be adduced, if needed, in corroboration of this 
point. 

That these delays were after all comparatively unimportant, since it was 
understood that the institution was not to commence its activity until the full 
endowment fund had been provided. 

That no blame on the subject was ever imputed to me, prior to the difficulties 
of December and January last, when pretexts were needed. 

That the assertions " not a single contract had been fulfilled," "not a soli- 
tary promise had been redeemed," "no practical results" " realized," are 
severally gratuitous and false. 

Nothing more, therefore, is needed here ; — still I cannot refrain from 
adding the following short extracts from the overwhelming mass of evi- 
dence in my possession : 

From Dr. Armsby, 1856, May 9 : — " I perceive, from your previous letters, 
there is doubt as to the completion of the instruments by the time proposed. I 
would give myself no trouble on this point, but let everything be done well, 
even if more time is necessary." 

1856, July 20. " I did not think of the preparatory work to be done before 
the stones arrive, until I received your letter of yesterday. I have been disap- 



232 



pointed at the delay of our architect, builder, and stone-cutter. Everything has 
been delayed, though I have been constantly hurrying them all. A new road had 
to be built, and new materials drawn, and new plans prepared. But this week 
we shall begin to show progress. The instruments, as you will learn by Spen- 
cer's letter, will not be here." 

1857, April 19. " You have overworked yourself for a long time past, and 
should take time to rest and recruit." 

1857, June 12. " The gas works will help to fill Hague's Hole. All, all, 

seems to be progressing steadily." 

From Mr. Olcott, 1857, March 25. "I believe there has been no delay 
which could have been avoided." 

1857, May 14. " All things I believe are progressing finely." . 
See also Dr. Armsby's letter of 1857, Jan. 6, on page 226. 



44. Quotations on page 37. 



I will go on and copy still another page from the " Statement :" 

From Dr. Armsby's letter, 1857, 
April 20. 



Statement of the Trustees," pp. 36 
and 37. 



These enquiries were, doubtless, 
promptly responded to; but, at the 
same time, the Trustees could not but 
feel, that it was time that some practi- 
cal results should be realized. Not a 
single contract had been fulfilled. Not 
a solitary promise had been redeemed. 
It will not be thought surprising, 
therefore, that at this period, one of 
the Trustees should have ventured to 
write a letter to Dr. Gould, which 
drew forth the following reply : 



11 Shall I tell you, my dear sir, how 
much your letter has grieved me ? At 
first I* thought I would not, for I am 
sure you would not willingly give me 
pain. But the implied reproach was 
not deserved. Hopefulness is a com- 
pound of enthusiasm and experience, 
and for the most part not within our 
own control. If so little progress is 
making, as you think, I am sorry it 
should be needful to assure you that it is 
no fault of mine. Remembering these 
things, and, also, that it is but a small 
part of all the labor that makes itself 



If we had reason for congratulation, 
little more than a year ago, with only 
the Old building and the $6,000 for 
the Heliometer, we certainly ought, 
now, to feel some degree of satisfaction 
with the progress that has been made, 
and to look forward with some degree 
of hopefulness to the future. But par- 
don me if I say, what I have some- 
times thought : that your hopefulness 
has seemed to diminish, just in propor- 
tion as our hopes and wishes have been 
realized. Perhaps I am too severe; if 
so, I beg you will forgive me. 

Frequent inquiries are made after 
the M. Circle and 0. Clock, but I have 
only to say, I have heard nothing for 
months of either. 

I know nothing of Mr. Smith's con- 
tract for the E. or W. room, or of his- 
promises. . . . One thing is evi 
dent to every one, that very little pro- 
gress is being made. 

What I wrote to Dr, Armsby, 

1857, April 21. 
Shall I tell you, my dear Doctor, 
how much your letter has grieved me ? 
At first I thought I would not, for I 
am sure you would not willingly give 
me pain. But the implied reproach 
was not deserved. Hopefulness is a 
compound of enthusiasm and experi- 
ence; and for the most part not within 
our control, — so that its absence would 
be a subject for regret, rather than 
censure. Yet, were it subject to the 
will, my own could not, I think, have 
been more thoroughly enlisted. When 



233 

manifest in the form of results, you one is vexed at the slowness of people 

should not, I think, be disposed to who have pledged their honor for 

censure me for lukewarmness; and if I promptitude, — has left no stone unturn- 

could not claim that your censure is ill e d to brins the most diverse influences 

desorved, I might plead nervous ex- direct and indirect to bear upon them , — 

haustion, in extenuation of a .great deal the i mp ij cation that hc is delaying 

of remissness? and if you palliate those woul(] hayc a . coge gid wcre Qne in 

who have behaved so badly, by assn- th t yein w ^ { ]{ 

ming that they have done the best they J ,, r , , 

could, surely vou will not deny as much ™£ f me two other « from val « ed 

to me " friends, censuring me for giving a dis- 

~ ' , . A , , , , n proportionate share of time and at- 

Complaints had only been drawn £ enti(m to driyi the 0bservat 

forth from the Trustees, by a painful matt and being^eedlessly troubled 
sense of duty. Large sums of money at their slowness & T t to draw the 
had been invested in the Observatory; inference that t am not erH too much 
more was daily asked, by the Trus- Qn either side b 

tees, from a liberal public. But they Tf s0 Httle ' s is making as you 

felt the embarrassment of soliciting do- thmk T am £„* it should be & needml 
nations for an institution, on behalf of to agsure ^ it ig nQ fault of 

which such flattering promises had mine , Ne / er has a lan or gketch re . 
been publicly made, and which had as mained lo in m / hands than was 
yet accomplished no results, that necessary for a proper study and criti- 
could be urged as a claim on popular d ai / d never has this time exceeded 
favor and support. forty-eight hours. Never has the ar- 

chitect been without material for many- 
weeks in advance; never the overseer 
without instructions enough to keep him busy. On the other hand, when trusts 
are committed to me with such large discretion and full confidence as you have 
honored me with, I cannot slight the responsibility entailed; but must act in my 
own field according to my best light, — disregarding the criticisms of those who 
have not better means of judgement. And I think it will be easy for me at any 
time to convince you on any desired point, that the deciding reasons were, if 
not the best, at least apparently so. 

It is now a fortnight that I have been daily expecting the completed plans for 
the dome, — which have been elaborated by the study and contrivance of months, 
and continually discussed, both orally and by writing, with Mr. Hodgins. These 
once received and found satisfactory, I know of nothing to interfere with their 
immediate execution. As to the past delays consequent on the changes of the 
transit-room, — you will surely hold me guiltless there. 

From Mr. Smith I have heard but twice since I was in Albany, although 
repeated requests have been made for information on certain points. Also he 
wished to modify the plans for the observers' house — and I asked him to do so 
and send them on, — but they have not come. Still Dr. Peters keeps me posted 
for the most part as to what is doing. Were the plans once settled, — the bad 
weather would not interfere with the contracts. The plans for roof and shut- 
ters have been in his possession since the end of February, — those for the floor 
since the 8th of April. One-third part of all my energies has been given to the 
Observatory, since the end of November. About the clock I have written six 
times since January, and when I can once deliver to the Trustees their finished 
building, and tell them that it is the best in existence, as far as it professes to 
be anything, it will be a relief and joy, such as I have seldom known. 

Remembering these things, and also that it is but a small part of all the 
labor which makes itself manifest in the form of results, you will not, I think, 
be disposed to censure me for lukevjarmness. But if so, let me add that neither 
you nor any other person know the troubles against which I have had to strug- 
gle, the toils to encounter, or the weariness of spirit which has almost broken 
me down. And if I could not claim that your censure is ill deserved, I might 
plead nervous exhaustion in extenuation of a great deal of remissness. And if 
you palliate those who have behaved so badly, by assuming that they have done 
the best they could, surely you will not deny as much to me. 

16 



234 

So much, my friend, I may say. But probably your words convey more 
than you intended, and you too were weary and worn when you wrote. 

From a letter of Dr. Armshy to me, 1857, April 23. 

I have just received your kind letter of the 21st, and hasten to assure you 
that I regret most sincerely having said anything that might seem censorious. 
I deeply regretted having written as I did; and in my haste I had no time to 
reperuse or reflect. ..... 

Again I must beg you to pardon me for whatever may seem unkind or censo- 
rious, and believe me ever and most truly your friend, 

J. H. ARMSBY. 

Do the Accusers really mean to assert that this correspondence with 
Dr. Armsby was official? They publish, it will be observed, an extract 
from my letter made up of detached sentences taken from different parts 
of the original and put together as if they were written continuously. 
They carefully omit every sentence in which the blame of the delay is 
attributed to the parties really in fault ; all my complaints of the slow- 
ness of others upon whom the work depended : my statement that I had 
written about the clock six times since January ; my earnest expression 
of my own sense of responsibility. It was necessary to make the public 
believe that the fault was mine alone, and so my letter is garbled to 
suit the purpose. I publish my answer to Dr. Armsby in full. I ask 
that it may be read and judged as a whole. From Dr. Armsby's first 
letter it will be seen that he uses such language as, "our hopes and 
wishes have been realized ;" — and from his reply to me it will be 
remarked that on receiving my answer he humbly apologized for having 
written the letter which called it forth. Eighteen months have since 
elapsed. The, false friend has become an open enemy. My answer to 
the implied censure for "want of hopefulness" is mutilated, garbled and 
trumpeted forth to the world, to sustain the false and baseless charge that 
open and direct dissatisfaction had been expressed at my " delay." I 
solemnly declare that none was ever expressed, or to my knowledge 
implied (unless it can be found in this letter from Dr. Arrnsby, so promptly 
apologized for), — until the period when the intrigues of Mr. Olcott and 
Dr. Armsby, against me, were ripening for execution. 

45. Acceptance of Excuses. 

The Accusers now say, that in April, 1857, 

"What they did do, was to accept Dr. Gould's excuses, and, hoping for the 
best, continue on as before/' (p. 38.) 

That they did not accept excuses which were never made, needs no 
declaration. I will therefore dismiss this point with a quotation from a 
letter of Mr. Olcott, written within a few weeks of this " same time": 

1857, March 5. " The late severe storm has arrested work at the Observa- 
tory, and we embrace the occasion to call in and settle up all old bills. The 
carpenter, Boardman, sends in a bill longer than the moral law and not half 
as good, for about $2,400, on which he has heen paid all but $-561. Pruyn 
and Lansing's bill is $752. Smith has just left me and is surprised that so 
much money has made so little show on the hill. He wants to start fair and 
square, so that he may contract for the future. I think he will carry out your 
instructions to the letter, and give us entire satisfaction. I dare not speak what 
I feel in regard to the past." 



235 

46. Practical Results. 

The Accusers intimate (page 38), that they began to tire of " extra- 
vagant promises" and to desire " practical results;" they talk of " paper 
bulietius," and " a volunteer adviser;" — they say, too, that 

" They had waited nearly twelve months, and were then apparently more 
distant than ever, from the fulfilment of their expectations." 

Of the ingratitude and perfidy of Mr. Olcott and his coadjutors. I 
will say nothing in this connection, but will merely recall the two public 
letters of the Council which " the Trustees" had used for obtaining sub- 
scriptions, — the original understanding in 1855, — the repeated and 
publicly avowed understanding in 1856, — and the full understanding in 
1857 ; that no active astronomical operations should be commenced until 
a proper endowment should be completed. The Council hoped for no 
more specimens in the United States, of splendid and pompous promises 
for budding institutions, followed by disastrous and mortifying failures ; 
and they meant that the Dudley Observatory, the scientific control of 
which had been intrusted to them, should afford no new illustration of 
this. 

If turning a house into an observatory, obtaining a choice library, 
and giving full and laboriously studied instructions for instruments of 
a high order, may not be considered as entitled to rank among " practi- 
cal results," I fear that the Accusers would be difficult to satisfy under 
any circumstances. It is now evident that what they wanted was show 
and " revenue." I had supposed their real aim to be the professed one, 
the "advancement of astronomy." Meantime the observations for lati- 
tude and for longitude by occultations had been going on. 

The Accusers illustrate their theory of " practical results" by a quota- 
tion on page 39, from a letter of mine to Mr. Olcott. This, like other 
quotations, is mutilated and garbled, — but I forbear dwelling upon it, 
since only ten words are. omitted, and other specimens of the process 
are abundant. 

47. Patronage. 

From the " Statement of the Trustees," What I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 

pp. 38 and 39. 1857, April 22. 

On the 22d of April, Dr. Gould All seems to promise a great central 
writes to Mr. Olcott, expressing his accumulation of intellect and study in 
conviction that the Observatory must your good old city; and may God bless 
be conducted, not only with a view to the efforts you are devoting to this end. 
its "results for astronomy, and the That the Dudley Observatory may con- 
laws which govern the celestial hosts," tribute largely to the fulfilment of our 
but, also, as a means of "attracting, hopes is very certain; and I think I 
enlisting, and concentrating, lovers and have mentioned to you, as I know to 
patrons of science." The Trustees, it Dr. Armsby and Mr. Hawley, my full 
is perhaps needless to say, were then, belief that, great as may be its results 
and remain now, of the same opinion, for astronomy and the laws which gov- 
ern the celestial hosts, its influence of 
the reflected, indirect, kind will be 
much greater still ; and that it will ex- 
ercise an immense power in attracting 
and concentrating lovers of science 
from all the regions around. 



236 

The extract from the press-copy of my letter which I here give, con 
clusively manifests the wilful falsification of the authors of the pamphlet, 
in asserting that under date of April 22d, I expressed my conviction 
" that the Observatory must be conducted, not only with a view to its 
results for astronomy, &c, &c, but also as a means of attracting, enlisf- 
ing and concentrating lovers and patrons of science." I said nothing 
of the kind, but simply expressed my belief that it would exercise an 
immense power in attracting and concentrating lovers of science. I 
figured Albany to myself as the seat of a future University, — as an intel- 
lectual center, — and the Dudley Observatory as a means to such an end. 
The Trustees insert the words "enlisting" and " and patrons ," — not so 
small a matter as it seems, but a forgery, intended to imply that I had 
encouraged their scheme of making an astronomical observatory a mere 
show box to attract and amuse their business customers, and secure the 
" revenue." 

48. Course of Dr. Peters. 

The Accusers go on (page 39) to compliment Mr. Olcott's favorite. 
They say that, " by his evident anxiety to bring the Observatory instru- 
ments into practical use," by his zeal and his manners, he "had gained 
their esteem and confidence ; and they observed, with deep regret, a 
disposition to interpose unnecessary obstacles, in the way of his success." 

Dr. Peters's province at the Observatory was distinctly defined. He 
had no official relations with the Trustees ; but was solely and exclusive- 
ly my representative, so far as Observatory work was concerned ; and 
his duties were clearly prescribed. The amount of his alleged "evident 
anxiety to bring the Observatory instruments into practical use," is well 
illustrated by stating two facts. 

First, he had nothing whatever to do with instruments, except the 
Coast Survey transit and zenith telescope, which I had procured for him 
to use in the latitude and longitude observations for the Coast Survey, 
(which he never reported,) and the small portable telescope or " comet- 
seeker," with which he had been requested to prosecute a search for comets. 

Secondly, none of the Observatory instruments had then been received, 
excepting this small telescope, and the calculating engine, which he could 
not use, of course. 

Near the close of 1856, Dr. Armsby applied to me to recall Dr. Peters, 
who, he said, was impracticable and highly offensive to the workmen and 
to Mr. Hague, — the overseer just appointed. In reply I offered to 
recall Peters if he should desire it, — but defended him as strenuously as 
I could. I give extracts from a few of Dr. Armsby 's letters about this 
time : 

1856, Oct. 30. " If you will advise Dr. Peters to give your instructions to 
Mr. Hague, and to keep quiet himself, (he is very indignant at our course) all 
will go on well and as rapidly as possible." 

Nov. 4. "I am sorry you have been troubled so much with our difficulties. 
Your letter had a good influence on Peters, and reconciled him to the continu- 
ance of Hague. At first he would not give any information to Hague, and said 
he would have nothing more to do with it. . . . Hodgins will go on devis- 
ing, Hague executing, and Peters approving, or, as is most common, disapproving, 



23Y 

U long as necessary. Peters is a good man, but peculiar, and somewhat liable 
to misunderstand." 

Nov. 5. " I would not recall Peters unless you think it best, or unless you 
can supply his place by a good man and an American." 

Nov. 11. "I know nothing of cutting down the tower except that Peters has 
been talking of it for a month, and I supposed of course that you were advised 
of it." 

The assertion that " they observed, with deep regret, a disposition to 
interpose unnecessary obstacles in the way of his success," is a wicked 
slander, a gross falsehood, without the form, color or shadow of a basis. 
As for Peters, from the first day I bade him welcome to American soil, 
up to the day of his declaration of hostility iu January last, I never treated 
him otherwise than with kindness and consideration. Since that time I 
have taken no notice of him whatever, until, in this Reply some account 
of him has become unavoidable. I hope to escape the necessity of ever 
noticing him hereafter. 

49. Bill at the Dtlavan House. 

An extract from a letter of mine to Dr. Armsby, 1857, May 17, is 
given by the Accusers on page 39 of their " Statement." In this extract 
I make acknowledgement of having found my bill for two days' board at 
the hotel, already receipted, when I asked for it. They add, apologeti- 
cally, that " the good taste of introducing this extract may be questioned." 
Still, their views of taste, and their ideas of what belongs to the self- 
respect of gentlemen, are such that they consider that " the reason and 
propriety of this quotation will at once be conceded." 

On p. 94, speaking of the Scientific Council, they also remark: 

" They did not, as on former occasions, apprise their friends in the Board of 
their arrival; nor did they, as they had been accustomed to do, avail them 
selves of their hospitalities." 

These two passages may be disposed of together. While there is no 
doubt that " the good taste " of such taunts to a former guest, who never 
abused the hospitality showu, may very well "be questioned," the fact 
of their introduction entails the necessity for a brief reply. The "friends 
in the Board," here spoken of, may be taken to mean Dr. Armsby and 
Mr. Olcott; and the contemptible spirit of the whole passage maybe 
estimated from the fact that the occasion, which called the Council to 
Albany at this time, was one of unmistakable hostility, bad faith and 
breach of a solemn compact, on the part of these two men. It was at 
such time that they now pretend to have expected us to claim their hospi- 
tality ! — although they well knew, that neither in January, when the 
Council assembled in Albany, nor for a long time previous, had any 
hospitality been offered or accepted. The remembrance of a former act 
of hospitality has done much to seal my lips and to strengthen my for- 
bearance. What my present debt of gratitude, on this account, may be, 
others can judge as well as I. It is not increased by the consciousness 
that I was the guest of men capable of turning such a circumstance into 
a subject for public proclamation. Indeed, I think it might be claimed 



238 

that the very acceptance of hospitality should have created an inviolable 
barrier to shield the guest from subsequent taunts on that account. 

During the years 1856 and 1857, 1 visited Albany about twenty times, 
to inspect the progress and give counsel. Whenever it was convenient I 
came without a summons ; and, whenever summoned, I came, — whether 
convenient or not. Not a dollar of the attendant expense was ever 
charged by me to the Observatory, — and though my sojourn in the city 
was usually in the household of an intimate and cherished friend, not 
connected with the institution, except as a donor, — a hotel was some- 
times more convenient. At first Dr. Armsby,very properly and consider- 
ately, requested me to leave my hotel-account for the Treasurer of the 
Observatory; but, as the invitation was uniformly declined, its repeti- 
tion was seen to be unnecessary. On two occasions, I think, — possibly 
three, — when I had come to Albany by request of the Managers, I was 
informed on leaving, that my bill was already defrayed by the Observa- 
tory. The extract given on page 39 was written 1857, May 17, to Dr. 
Armsby, and referred to the first of these occasions. 

Although the passage is cut short in the middle, although the omitted 
part would have given quite a different tone to it, — and the word " it" 
in the last line, is changed into " you, 17 to give the impression that I 
allowed Dr. Armsby personally to liquidate my hotel bills, — I will 
dismiss the uncomfortable subject with this brief narrative. It is suffi- 
ciently humiliating that there is no means of canceling all semblance of 
such indebtedness. 

The gratuitous assertion — 

" That the Trustees, and especially the one to whom the letter was written, 
have been charged with offering every possible annoyance and obstruction to Dr. 
Gould, at this very time," 

is evidently introduced by the authors of the pamphlet to create a preju- 
dice against a man who could avail himself of such " generosity," and 
subsequently make any complaint. There is, I think, a distinction to be 
drawn between " continual interference" and " every possible annoyance 
and obstruction." That I did complain of interference, is true; but not 
until goaded to it by necessity. It is now manifest that my error was 
in not complaining earlier. 

50. The Astronomical Journal, • 

Upon page 40, the Accusers say : 

"On the 19th of May, 1857, Dr. Gould writes to one of the Trustees: 

'Your kind inclosure of $300 has come to hand, and I have to thank you very 
much for your tboughtfulness. It will more than cover the present proportion of 
deficit. Your letter was sweet, hut very short. 7 

" This remittance, sent to him by Dr. Armsby, was to relieve Dr. Gould from 
what was represented as his personal loss in the publication of the Astronomi- 
cal journal." 

Upon page 145, the Accusers say r 

" In another [letter] he is found acknowledging personal courtesies, and in 
another, the receipt of a gratuity of $300, as a contribution towards his pre- 
tended loss in the publication of the Astronomical Journal." 



239 

When the reader shall have perused the narrative of the facts concern- 
ing the Astronomical Journal, I beg him to turn back to these phrases, 
•'remittance sent to him by Dr. Armsby," "represented as his personal 
loss" " gratuity of $300," " pretended loss," &c. 

The facts which may explain these present flings, and the contemptible 
insinuations of what the authors did not choose to utter, may perhaps be 
clearly given, by extracts from a letter on this subject, received from a 
friend in July last, and from my reply. They speak for themselves : 

Albany, July 7, 1858. 

My Dear Sir — It is charged that you have obtained, through friends in Albany, 
a subscription of $'1500 a year (commencing in 185(3) towards defraying the 
expense of publishing the Astronomical Journal; that } r ou desired recently the 
name of Dr Armsby to be erased from the list of those to whom the Journal 
is sent; that thereupon an investigation was made into the cost of publishing 

the Journal, and this was found, from the report of Mr. , to be less than 

$300 for the past six months; thus showing that you had, by misstatements, 
obtained a large sum purely for your own profit. May I ask you to explain 
briefly anything that may tend to give information with respect to this extra- 
ordinary charge ? Yours truly, 

Dr. B. A. Gould, Jr. . 

Reply. 

Albany, 1858, July 8. 

Dear Sir — It had been my hope that the entirely abstruse and unpretending 
character of my pet Journal would have proved its protection amid the vortex 
of misrepresentation and traduction, in which everything else relating to my 
moral, intellectual and physical being and history seems to be at present 
involved; and that the silence which I have preserved would, by this time, have 
permitted the calumnies of men, whom I have never injured, to exhaust them- 
selves. 

But I cheerfully reply to your inquiries concerning the Astronomical Journal, 
by giving a concise statement of the history of this matter, relative to which I 
have, however, uttered no complaint. 

This Journal is one designed exclusively for astronomers, and of no popular 
interest whatever, its province being confined to technical investigations in such 
portions of the higher mathematics as have an astronomical bearing, and to the 
successive additions to human knowledge in the several departments of Astro- 
nomy. Not only is its circulation confined almost exclusively to professional 
astronomers, but more than half of this circulation is gratuitous. 

It was established by me in the year 1849, and carried on through many 
obstacles and at large pecuniary outlay, until in the summer of 1856, I deter- 
mined to bring the publication to a close, as it was costing me about $600 a 
year more than the subscriptions, and all my superfluous means were required 
for other purposes, concerning which explanation is unnecessary. 

During the ceremonies of Inauguration of the Dudley Observatory, in August, 
1856, the public announcement was made by Professor Bache in his published 
remarks, to my entire surprise and astonishment, — that twelve gentlemen of 
Albany had contributed the sum necessary to support the Astronomical Jour- 
nal for six years. 

I had often mentioned, in reply to questions, that the excess of outlay over 
receipts on account of the Journal had averaged $600 a year. And when after 
the ceremonies, Prof. Bache named Dr. Armsby as the originator and prompter 
of this kind deed, I expressed my deep feeling and cordial thanks, and was 
told by Dr. Armsby it was arranged by him as an agreeable surprise for me; 
as a small expression of the indebtedness of the friends of the Observatory, and 
that the twelve gentlemen had guaranteed an annual contribution of $50 each. 
Of course I commenced the new volume; and the publication of the Journal was 
continued as before, with the exception that the word "Albany " was substi- 
tuted for "Cambridge," in the title. 



240 

Some time later I received notice from Dr. Armsby, that it had been a condi- 
tion of the subscription, that the Journal should actually be printed in Albany. 
Had I been aware of this condition I should certainly not have accepted the 
offer; but without any remonstrance I made arrangements for having the print- 
ing done in this city, at the cost of considerable embarrassment, — not, however, 
arising from any want of effort upon the part of Mr. Van Benthuysen, who has 
taken great pains. This change took place in June, 1857, prior to which I 
received through Dr. Armsby $300 as the first semi-annual contribution. This 
is the only sum that I have ever received from these contributors. 

The consequences have been that, owing to the other severe drafts upon my 
pecuniary resources, I have been obliged to publish with less than half the 
previous rapidity; that it has, to my deep regret, become impossible for me 
longer to pursue the system of announcing every new planetary and cometary 
discovery by a special circular; that it has been necessary for the Journal to 
dispense with diagrams, engravings, and illustrations of every kind, and that I 
have been compelled to decline the publication of numerous articles to which I 
should otherwise most gladly have given a place. 

That I took any measures to obtain the subscription; that I had any previous 
suspicion of the guaranty until announced from the platform at the Inaugura- 
tion; that I made any representations whatever relative to the expense entailed 
upon me by the Journal, other than conversational answers to apparently casual 
inquiries; that since the promise of $600 a year in August, 1856, any of the 
promised support has been received, excepting the above mentioned $300; or 
that I have in any year since its publication failed to incur heavy pecuniary 
loss through its means, are statements which are severally untrue. 

Some time during the year 1857 I asked Dr. Armsby for these twelve donors' 
names, and he replied that, for the sake of giving eclat to the inauguration 
ceremonies, he had taken the responsibility of saying that this pledge had been 
given by twelve gentlemen, having then entertained no doubt that the list would 
immediately be tilled up; that he felt mortified at the failure, and was not yet 
without hopes of completing the work. I made no reply, and do not remember 
alluding to the subject since that time. Believing his impulses to have been 
good, I felt that delicacy should preclude any criticism of his course. 

During the present spring I found that each successive number of the Journal 
was made the basis for some anonymous and generally calumnious attack through 
the city press, usually traceable to Dr. Armsby; I was informed, too, by friends 
that a large list of regular subscribers had been obtained, but subsequently 
taken possession of by Dr. Armsby and suppressed by him. And being unwill- 
ing to pursue the seemingly hypocritical course of continuing to present it to 
him as a friend, I did order his name to be erased from the distribution list- 
Had I supposed him able to understand it, or to find any topics of interest in 
it, he should have continued to receive it, as Dr. Peters has, and does; had he 
been one of the promised supporters, he should have continued to receive it, as 
Mr. Olcott has, and does. Perhaps the erasure of his name was an error, — 
but, at any rate, it was one of self-respect, and not of temper or resentment. 

As to the alleged " investigation," I have never heard of it before; and from 

my slight acquaintance with Mr. , and my confidence in his truthfulness, I 

will not hesitate to say that I disbelieve it. He has no means of knowing any 
of the expenses of the Journal, excepting the printing, folding and mailing. 

You will bear me witness, my dear Sir, that this statement is not of my seek- 
ing. Let me add that I have made no complaints, but have allowed the scientific 
world to believe that the pecuniary burden had been taken from my shoulders. 

Very sincerely yours, 

B. A. GOULD, Jr. 

Such is the history of this " gratuity" of $300 from Dr. Armsby 
" to relieve Dr. Gould from what was represented as his personal loss in 
the publication of the Astronomical Journal/' I am convinced that not 
a dollar of the amount came from Dr. Armsby's pocket ! 



241 



^ The person chiefly active in circulating these calumnies and defama- 
tions in July, — was Mr. Robert II. Pruyn, one of the present Accusers. 

The Accusers enforce their theory of the "gratuity" by an alleged 
extract from a letter of mine, dated 1857, May 19, which is grossly gar* 
bled and mutilated. 

The last sentence of the alleged passage is taken from the third page 
and last paragraph of my letter, and incorporated by the garblers with 
the first paragraph of the first page, with which it had no connection. 

The professed extract and the corresponding portion of the real letter 
were as follows : 



From the "Statement of the Trustees." 

On the 19th of May, 1857, Dr. Gould 
writes to one of the Trustees : 

"Your kind inclosure of $300 has 
come to hand, and I have to thank you 
very much for your thoughtfulness. It 
will more than cover the present propor- 
tion of deficit. Your letter was sweet, 
but very short." 



What I wrote to Dr. Armsby. 

Your kind inclosure has just come to 
hand, and I thank you very much for 
your thoughtfulness. The Journals 
have, amid the disturbances and delays 
and illness of the past season, come 
out so very slowly that it will more 
than cover the proportion of deficit. 
But in squaring up accounts with the 
old printer, before commencing with 
the new, it will be most acceptable. 

I forbear from comment, relative to this matter of the Astronomical 
Journal. Deceived, deluded and betrayed as I have been, — -great as have 
been my struggles to sustain it in a manner worthy of my native land, — > 
I have hitherto refraiued from all complaint and do not iutend to be<nn 
it now. 

51. Quotations on pages 40 and.±l. 

There are, on these pages, three alleged quotations, — beside the one of 
which the falsification has just been exposed. 

The first is on page 40. I will not consume time and space by 
reprinting it at length, since the mutilations belong to the less atrocious 
class. Suffice it to say that in nine lines forming an alleged extract from 
a letter of mine to Mr. Olcott, 1857, May 26, relative to the proposed 
dwelling house, ten words are inserted, one is omitted, three are changed, 
and the arrangement of the sentences is altered for a manifest purpose. 

The next specimen of deliberate misrepresentation is the following, — 
the garbled extract being twice employed in the " Statement" (pp. 41, 
145): 



From the "Statement of the Trustees, 1 ' 
page 41. 

On the 20th of June, Dr. Gould 
writes to the President : 

u The work upon the hill is apparent- 
ly going on well. I trust that your 
arrangements will be as fruitful and 
successful as they are wisely and judi- 
ciously devised. Inclosed is a draft for 
$129.50, the purchase money of a set of 
books for the Observatory, which are 
daily due in New York." 



What I wrote to Mr. Olcott (Vice Presi* 
dent) 1857, June'20. 

Your kind letter of the 10th was 
duly received, and I trust that your 
arrangements will be as fruitful and 
successful as they are wisely and judi- 
ciously devised. The work upon the 
hill is apparently going on well, and a 
very few weeks ought to see everything 
at last completed. Nothing excepting 
a few matters of merest detail remains 
to be done, so far as giving the final 



242 

The money for the draft was remit- directions goes, and if Mr. — — would 
ted on the day after the receipt of the only send on the plans which he had 
letter. promised for the 10th of May, all these 

could be very speedily disposed of. 

Inclosed is a draft (already paid) 
upon me for $129.50, the purchase 
money of a set of books for the Ob- 
servatory, which are daily due in New 
York, and for entering and forwarding 
which I will endeavor to provide on 
their arrival. 

The " arrangements " mentioned had no reference " to the work upon 
the hill," but the expression referred to the following sentence in the 
letter from Mr. Olcott, to which I was replying : 

(i Dr. Armsby has probably advised you of arrangements for making pretty 
extensive appeals for aid throughout the State ; and before long in many of the 
States." 

Nothing can be more characteristic. First, the relative position of 
two sentences is changed so as to make it appear that the "arrange- 
ments" mentioned referred to the work upon the hill. Let it be remem- 
bered that the Trustees try to make it appear throughout, that all was 
done in accordance with my wishes, and that. I approved of everything 
they did. Then, as all delays are to be attributed to me, the statement 

» in my letter as to Mr. is omitted. Finally the fact that I paid 

myself the draft for $129.50, and that Mr. Olcott was only repaying 
money which I had advanced, was passed over, — accidentally of course. 

The third of these quotations can also speak for itself. The insertion 
of Mr. Olcott's name is as characteristic as the omission of both the 
sentences which contain qualifications of the first. The extract is also 
significant as showing, that not only the letters, whether from Professor 
Bache, the prominent donors, or myself, which were addressed to Mr. 
Olcott and Dr. Armsby, but those moreover which were addressed to 
Dr. Peters, and written in a foreign language, have been subjected to the 
same process of mutilation, falsification, or perversion. 

From, the " Statement of the Trustees," What I wrote to Dr. Peters, 

p. 41. 1857, August 4. 

On the 25th of July, 1857, the Esisteine hiibscheldee demCometen 

Olcott comet was discovered by Dr. den geehrten Namen des Trefflichen zu 

Peters. The importance of this dis- geben. Allein da es gegen alle meine 

covery was, at the time, appreciated theoretischen Principien ist. den Com- 

and acknowledged by the late Director eten anders als durch Jahr und Numero 

and Scientific Council. Dr. Gould, in zu beschreiben, — so richten Sie es so 

a letter dated Cambridge, August 4th,. ein, dass ichnicht dafur verantwortlich 

1857, says: erscheine. Ich will ein wenig Heuchler 

"It is a very pretty idea to give the dabei s P ielen - 

comet the esteemed name of the excellent Translation 

Mr. Olcott" T . . .-. .' , . " , ■ ,, 

It is a pretty idea to give to the 

This was before the late remarkable comet the honored name of the excel- 

discovery by the Scientific Council, lent man. But since it is contrary to all 

that the "ridiculous procedure" of my theoretical principles to designate 

thus naming the comet, was " entirely the comet otherwise than by its year 



243 

unwarranted by astronomical usage." and number, you must so arrange 

The latter fact, although unknown to that I do not appear responsible for it. 

Dr. Gould, had not, it seems, escaped I am willing to play dissembler ;i little 

the research of his greater astronomi- in the matter. 
cal associates. 

52. Olcott Comet. 

As the Accusers have thought proper to bring the subject of the 
" Olcott comet" again before the public, I ask particular attention to 
the extract which they give from my letter, and request that it may be 
carefully compared with what I actually wrote. 

As to the name which Dr. Peters thought fit to give the comet, for 
reasons best known to himself, am I responsible for that ? I expressly 
objected to it, as contrary to all my theoretical principles. I expressly 
threw the responsibility of so unusual and unwarranted a proceeding 
upon Dr. Peters himself, offering to let it pass in his name, to show the 
respect which I then cherished for Mr. Oicott's name and character. 'Is 
there, in the whole history of controversy, a perversion more delibe- 
rately infamous than that of which the Accusers are guilty when they 
purposely omit my words : 

" But since it is contrary to all my theoretical principles to designate the 
comet otherwise than by its year and number, you must so arrange it that I do 
not appear responsible for it. I am willing to play dissembler a little in the 
matter," — 

when they make it appear that I said only, 

'■ It is a very pretty idea to give the comet the esteemed name of the excellent 
Mr. Olcott ;"— 

and when they actually go on to say, 

This was before the. late remarkable discovery by the Scientific Council, that 
the " ridiculous procedure " of thus naming the comet, was " entirely unwar- 
ranted by astronomical usage." The latter fact, although unknown to Dr. 
Gould, had not, it seems, escaped the research of his greater astronomical 
associates, (p. 41.) 

Have the Accusers the effrontery to assert that this omission of my 
words was accidental ? Can any man who has kept up with this contro- 
versy believe that it was so ? 

Yet all this unprincipled misrepresentation, and more like it, as well as 
this garbled quotation, are repeated on pages 148 and 149. As the 
Accusers deliberately ignore the history of this affair given by Professors 
Henry, Bache and Peirce, in their "Defence of Dr. Gould," §7, I shall 
here reprint a portion of that document and then leave the subject to 
the judgement of the public. 

" The first instrument completed for the Observatory was a small telescope 
of the kind known as ' comet-seekers,' and Dr. Gould had directed Dr. Peters 
to institute a search for comets, by carefully sweeping the most promising por- 
tions of the heavens, in order by some discoveries of this kind to obtain for the 
new Observatory a certain popular favor. Four comets appeared, and were 
detected elsewhere before his search proved successful; but at last a telescopic 
comet (1857, IV.) was found by him, two days prior to its detection in Europe. 



244 

This discovery, though not a very important addition to human knowledge, 
received the generous commendation of Dr. Gould, who considered that it would 
be especially gratifying to Messrs Armsby and Olcott, and might stimulate 
some liberal citizen to farther donation. A different and adroit use of the 
circumstance, however, was made by Dr. Peters to advance his own interest, 
and he pretended to confer upon the celestial visitant the name of c Olcott-Cornet.' 
We say pretended, because he well knew the name could not be adopted. This 
ridiculous procedure was entirely unwarranted by astronomical usage, and the 
name has, of course, never been adopted by a single astronomer. Dr. Peters 
Well knew that after the world had refused the honored names of Herschel and 
Le Verrier to the celestial bodies with which these names are indissolubly asso- 
ciated in history, it would hardly confer upon a telescopic comet the name of 
the then Vice-President of the Trustees. 

Dr. Gould is the editor of the Astronomical Journal, and in his official capa- 
city, although of course desirous of gratifying the feelings of Mr. Olcott, he felt 
obliged to change the editorial heading of the article to the words ' Fourth Comet 
of 1857;,' although he left the words ' Olcott-Comet ' in the body of the commu- 
nication, which he generously published in Dr. Peters's behalf alone, without 
any allusion to their official relations.'* 

53. Newspaper Puffs. 

The Accusers, having remarked that "the importance of this discovery 
was, at the time, appreciated and acknowledged by the late Director, 
and Scientific Council," continue thus : 

" The late Director was so highly gratified, that in another letter to a gentleman 
in this city, dated August 5th, 1857, he gives some hints for bringing the comet 
into notice, through items that would be c snapped up by the press.' He says: 

' Little notices of a few lines, conveying, ea.Gh of them, some information relative 
to the comet, will be snapped up and run round the press, as items, when puffs 
would not 5 and it will be easy, with care, so to frame the language of a little para- 
graph, every two or three days, as to keep it before the public, without offending 
the tastes of scientific men. For instance, one paragraph could state that it is 
approaching both the sun and the earth, and will be nearest the one on such a day, 
and the other on such another time. Later, another paragraph might say how 
bright it is likely to become. Later still, that it passes so many millions of miles 
from the earth, at its nearest approach. If it ever shows a tail, this is an interest- 
ing fact. And into every one of these paragraphs, the name of the Dudley Obser- 
vatory may be unostentatiously introduced, so as not to give the paragraph the 
appearance of a puff written for the purpose .' " 

Good and honorable men will hardly credit their senses when they read 
what I actually wrote about this comet, and learn what value astrono- 
mers set upon the mere detection of one of these bodies. The Accusers 
carefully omit one paragraph in my letter, since it directly contradicts 
their statement, that the "importance of this discovery was at the time 
appreciated" by "the late Director." 

What I wrote to Dj\ Armsby, 1857, August 5. 

Little notices of a few lines, conveying, each of them, some information rela- 
tive to the comet, will be snapped up and run round the press as items, when 
long puffs would not. Among those ignorant of astronomy, the detection of a 
comet passes for a great feat, and it will be easy, with a little care, so to frame 
the lano-uao-e of a little paragraph every two or three days, as to keep it before 
the public without offending the taste of scientific men. 

In like manner the word "long," qualifying " puff" is omitted, the 
word "little," qualifying "care," is also omitted, while italics of the origi- 
nal are put in ordinary type in the garbled copy, and vice versa. Without 
undervaluing the discovery, it, as every astronomer knows, was of compara- 



245 

tively small real scientific interest. I saw in it, however, a means of 
strengthening the Observatory in popular favor, of which I endeavored 
at once to avail myself. Docs my letter indicate a want of interest in 
the welfare of the Observatory ? 

I believe that no one "acquainted with Dr. Gould's peculiarities" 
will consider a weakness for newspaper puffery as being among them. 
From my first connection with Messrs. Olcott and Armsby, up to the 
time when grave difficulties began to become apparent, this "hankering 
for print" on their part was my chief source of discomfort in Observa- 
tory affairs. My "press-copies" teem with appeals to them to say little 
and yet do much; — and scarcely an interview occurred between myself 
and Dr. Armsby without some appeal to him that he would refrain from 
carrying every little item of information concerning Observatory matters, 
to some newspaper for insertion. This disposition on my part, I believe, 
aided greatly in prompting the subsequent "determination to get rid of 
Dr. Gould." 

The discovery of the comet furnished a legitimate and proper occasion 
to bring the Observatory into public notice. My suggestions to Dr. 
Peters, to search for comets, were given in order that such an opportu- 
nity might be obtained. But when I discovered the ostentatious way 
in which the thing was doing by Dr. Armsby, T appealed to him to use 
methods less repugnant to good taste ; and thus wrote the passage of 
which a mutilated copy is given in the "Statement," to make me appear 
an advocate of that system of puffery, the tendency to which, I was striv- 
ing to modify and control in Dr. Armsby, although the attempt to sup- 
press it would have been most futile. 

I had given Dr. Peters permission to prepare and print, at my expense, 
in Albany, a circular of the Astronomical Journal, making known the dis- 
covery. He availed himself of the opportunity to announce it in a style 
such as no circular or article ofHhat periodical ever before or since 
exhibited. I translate a paragraph from a letter which he wrote me at 
the same time : 

" Of course it must be intrusted to newspaper articles, (and the worthy man 
[Dr. Armsby] is already busy at these) to blow the trumpet more for the 
Observatory; and I may not of course do it in a circular intended for astrono- 
mers. I am already sorry for the closing paragraph, which would have been 
better omitted!" 

This allusion to what " the worthy man" was doing, gave me, not 
unnaturally, some reason for anxiety ; and it prompted to the dissertation 
upon the best style of puffery, if any style were to be employed. 

54. Gall and Wormwood. 

The Accusers go on to insinuate — and insinuation is their forte — that 
this discovery of a comet by one astronomer was gall and wormwood to 
another. And, with a view to make the public believe that I endeavored 
to transfer the discovery of the comet to myself, or that my friends 
desired to claim it for me ; they say : 

" How the discovery w r hich had rewarded the long night watchings, and the 
zeal and energy of Dr. Peters, could be suddenly transferred to the ' masterly 



246 

inactivity ' of Dr. Gould, and thus create him the discoverer of the ' fourth 
comet of 1857,' neither the Trustees nor the Press could understand." 

I defy these men to prove by honest quotations of any kind, or in any 
other way, — that I ever claimed, or that my friends ever claimed for me 
any share in the merit of the discovery, such as it was. Let it be 
remembered that I had directed Dr. Peters to institute that very search 
for comets which was at last successful, and had lost no opportunity of 
commending him. after he had succeeded. When a man endeavors to 
obtain scientific applause at the expense of honesty, he hunts somewhat 
larger game than this. 

Upon pages 148 and 149, the Accusers go on in the same strain. They 
say: 

cc Most comets that have a known period as this has, bear the name of the dis- 
coverer, or of some friend or patron whom he desires to honor. Dr. Peters, had 
he been shrewd, would, at once, have decided that this ' new comer ' should 
have been called the ' Gould Comet.' This would have been excellent. Or, he 
might well have called it the ' Bache Comet.' No one would have doubted the 
fitness of such a name. Or, perhaps better still, it might have -been called the 
' Coast Survey.' But Dr. Peters, in his simplicity, forgot all these proprieties, 
and, as these Scientific gentlemen say, ' pretended to confer upon the celestial 
visitant the name of the Olcott Comet. 3 This they pronounce ' a ridiculous 
procedure.' " 

The first sentence of this passage is made up of compact falsehoods. 
The remainder needs no comment. It well illustrates the character of 
the authors. 

55. Resting on Oars. 

The Accusers say (page 43) : 

On the 21st of September, Dr. Gould, writing from Cambridge, says that 
nothing can be done on the clocks and -dials, in consequence of Mr. Parmer's 
sickness, and adds: 

u Now I suppose we must make up our minds to rest awhile on our oars; for in 
the present frightful pecuniary crisis, it will be futile to anticipate donations." 

Surprised at the tenor and tone of this letter, and believing that in place of 
keeping up the continued cry of " Give! Give!" some effort should be made to 
obtain some useful results from the large amount of money already collected 
and expended, the Trustees felt constrained to express their disapprobation of 
this proposed " stop policy." 

It may again be asked, why the Trustees did not take measures to terminate 
the "resting upon the oars," already too long protracted. 

The alleged extract from my letter to Dr. Armsby with which this 
passage is introduced, is of course garbled, — although in this case it 
happens to contain but one fabricated and inserted word ; and the garbling 
consists merely in taking two independent sentences, and by putting 
them together, and weaving them into one, creating a mutual relation 
which did not exist in the original. 

The phrase " resting upon the oars" gives the Accusers a new point 
upon which they may hang their subsequently devised accusation of 
delay ; and they proceed to use the phrase as a sneer. The accusation 
has been answered, — and my present purpose is not to harp again upon 



247 

this well-thrummed string, but to exhibit the falsity which pervades and 
permeates these Attacks. 

Dr. Gould, writing on the 21st of September, 1857, said : " Now T 
suppose we must make up our minds to rest awhile on our oars ;" and 
"the Trustees" were surprised and "felt constrained to express their 
disapprobation of this proposed ' stop policy' ! " Let us see how they 
exhibited their surprise and made manifest the "disapprobation" which 
they thus " felt constrained " to express. 

From a Utter of Dr. Armsby, 1857, Oct. 1. 

" Since the receipt of your letter of Sept. 21, I have been waiting and hoping, 
(almost without hope,) for something of a more cheering nature to communicate 
to you" 

" Mr. Olcott informed me to-day that he had a letter from you, and one from 
Pistor and Martins, also; but I have not had time to call and see him. He is 
always so much hurried and crowded at the Bank, that I can hardly ever find 
him to talk with him alone. He is quite anxious to keep some one in the build- 
ing, if possible, (as I have often heard him say) until something turns up that 
will enable the Observatory to begin its activity. 

Your sincere and faithful friend, 

J. H. AKMSBY." 

From a Utter of Dr. Armsby, 1857, Oct. 17. 

" I have not heard from you for several weeks, except through Mr. Olcott, 
who showed me your letter in relation to the M. Circle. We are rejoiced to 
hear that it is so nearly perfect. Will it be sent on this month, or wait until 
the balance is paid for it ?" 

" Boston, I see, has not escaped the blighting influence of the panic. We have 
probably suffered less in Albany than most places. No failures or suspensions 
of any consequence have occurred. But another week would have tried our 
merchants and banks sorely, if the general suspension had not taken place. 
Peters says this is a "poor," " very poor " country — " all sham and show." 
The work on the Hill is now nearly completed. The gas house, and all but the 
works done. The painting of library is fine, and the exterior of the building is 
really beautiful. The brown stone color is a great improvement to the building, 
and gives satisfaction to every one. It seems to give weight and increased size 
to the Observatory. We are all glad this color was selected, as the effect is fine, 
and harmonizes beautifully with the stone porticos and trimmings. The new 
House is enclosed, and will go on more slowly in consequence of the pressure." 

" We shall be satisfied with whoever you may select for the present or tempo- 
rary occupant of the Observatory, but hope you will be able to manage to keep 
it open, in some way or other, until something more favorable presents." 

" Everything is wonderfully improved since the painting. Let us be of " good 
cheer," and hope bountifully for the future. Let me hear from you as often as 
possible, and believe me as ever, and sincerely 

Your friend, 

J. H. ARMSBY." 

On the 1st of October, — ten days after the " surprise," " constraint," 
and "disapprobation," — Mr. Olcott wrote me that he was "willing 
to sink or swim" with the Council, and " we hardly dare ask you to take 
up your residence at once at the Observatory, though we think it would 
insure our success." And five weeks later (Nov. 9) he wrote again : 

" Whatever our Scientific Council decide upon, in relation to the Observa- 
tory, we shall deem the best." 



248 

What surprise ! What a feeling of constraint ! What mortifying 
disapprobation ! 

56. "Give! Give!" 

Not only in the passage above cited, but in numerous other places 
throughout the volume, the Accusers allude to me or the Council, as 
greedy for funds. For what other purpose was the sneer, p. 36. 

"At the same time, it is proper to state that Dr. Gould evinced commendable 
interest in the pecuniary affairs of the Institution." 

And page 34 : 

" The efforts of the Trustees to raise funds, seemed now to promise so well, 
that the Scientific Council were animated with new zeal." 

And page 35: 

"On the 15th of January, 1857, Prof. Bache writes: 'Your subscriptions 
grow in number, indeed. May they reach your highest figure!' " 

All who have read the history of the institution can see and feel the 
base ingratitude of these scoffs. The Council having undertaken to be 
responsible for the scientific character of the Observatory, provided the 
endowment should be obtained, and having relied upon the promises of 
the agents of the Board, that the necessary means could and would 
be collected ; — now that these agents have spent for construction what was 
given for endowment, and no means approaching the requisite amount 
are at hand, the Scientific Council and myself are thus violently 
attacked, — both for delay because the activity did not commence without 
means, and for greediness because we expressed our hope that the means 
would speedily be secured. These men of dollars sneer at me as though 
I wanted the money for myself, when I speak of its importance ; — they 
calumniate me as though I had squandered it for them, whenever they 
allude to their own expenditures. And, not content that all our labors 
should be gratuitous, and all our expenses personal, (except that bill at 
the Delavan House), they presume to talk about a cry of " give ! give !" 
from a man who never asked them for anything, but had placed his own 
means freely at their call. 

This is indeed a melancholy spectacle of ingratitude and defamation. 

57. The Practical Observe?'. 
The Accusers continue (page 43) : 

" They [" the Trustees "J had a practical Observer in Albany, ready 
to prosecute, faithfully and diligently, the Observatory work. His efforts 
were rendered fruitless by the restraining check held over him by an 

UNOFFICIAL " HEAD," EXERCISING AUTHORITY at a distance, and DISCOURAG- 
ING all work save that "in the pecuniary line;" prolific in promises, too, 
and BARREN IN performance." 

In this passage, — which may well challenge comparison in the whole 
range of literature for the amount of direct and implied falsehood con- 



249 

densed within a given number of words, — I have called attention to 
several poiuts by means of the typography. 

It will be remembered that Peters stood in no official relation what- 
ever to " the Trustees ;" that he was an employee of the Coast Survey, 
attached to my party and stationed by me in Albany to attend to certain 
duties, not inconsistent with his other work of calculating occultations. 
It is now known that he was, as the Accusers intimate, very ready to 
enter the Observatory service, and occupied in intriguing against his 
benefactor, to accomplish this desired end. Yet at the same time, he 
was neither engaged upon work for " the Trustees," nor stationed in 
Albany at their call, nor paid by them. How then was the "restrain- 
ing check" held over him ? What do the Accusers mean by "an unoffi- 
cial 'head?'" In what way was all work discouraged? What had 
Peters to do with the "pecuniary line?" Whether I was "prolific in 
promises," or " barren in performance," the readers of this book may 
decide. 

The phrase "practical observer" is applied as frequently as possible 
to Dr. Peters, by the Accusers, throughout their publications ; — to which 
of course I do not object. But they couple with this their favorite 
charge of incompetency against me. They intimate in various places, 
what they distinctly assert on page 22 : 

" That Dr. Gould's views were theoretical only, and that he was without 
practical experience." 

In his Manifesto, Mr. Olcott, in the exuberance of his rhetoric and 
a rcasm, endeavors to declare what I am and what I am not, by talking 
of another in the language of contraries. He says, speaking of Peters: 

" He is not a specious, entertaining, pedantic theorist, abounding in contriv- 
ances of a useless and visionary character. On the contrary he is a ripe scholar, 
an accomplished astronomer, and can fathom with a profound mind the pro- 
founder depths of science." 

There are certain persons in every community, who regard theoretical 
attainments as being inconsistent with practical ability. With such 
persons this mode of charging incompetency and discreditable character- 
istics may perhaps have some effect ; at least this was the evident inten- 
tion. Most persons regard work performed as a criterion for judging of 
relative ability to perform work. But Mr. Olcott, in his zeal to " crush," 
does not hesitate to pass his opinion as a definite verdict upon all the 
scientific as well as the other questions which can be brought into this 
quarrel. 

58. Quotations on page 44. 

From, the " Statement," page 44. What I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 

" That barometer matter it belonged 1857 ' 0ctober 3 - 

of course to me to see about; and it has That barometer matter it belonged 

not been forgotten at any time. But, of course to me to see about; and it 

expecting Mr. Gavit to act in the pre- has not been forgotten at any time. 

mises, delicacy prevented me from Expecting Mr. Gavit to act in the pre- 

doing more than ask a question now mises, delicacy prevented me from do- 

and then, and I was under the impres- ing more than ask a question now and 

sion that he was taking steps in the then, and I was under the impression 

premises. that he was taking steps in the premi- 
11 



250 



<c If you feel so earnestly about the 
suspension of activity at the Observa- 
tory, it shall not be shut up, if I can 
help it. * Since I saw you, both Pro- 
fessors Bache and Henry have been 
here, and together with Pierce, we 
have had various talks about the Ob- 
servatory. We find ourselves entirely 
unanimous on the subject. But while 
all entertain the same views which I 
expressed to you, adverse to any com- 
mencement upon an inadequate scale, 
and favorable to the policy of awaiting 
a new flood tide, we yet will none of 
us urge the closing up entirely, 
while you feel so strongly opposed to 
it as I infer from your letter. Conse- 
quently, I feel sure that Prof. Bache 
will authorise me to keep some one of 
my party there. 

"There will be some difficulty in 
finding opportunity to train Observers; 
and those already accustomed to the 
use of the class of astronomical instru- 
ments which we ought to employ, are 
rare in this country, as yet. There 
are some advantages in employing for- 
eigners, but these are usually more 
than counterbalanced by corresponding 
evils. Furthermore, it is a little dif- 
ficult to devise legitimate Coast Sur- 
vey work, which can be done there 
without mounting the great instru- 
ments, and I would earnestly dissuade 
from this." 



ses. Finding, when last in Albany, 
that he had done nothing, I mentioned 
the matter when writing to you. 

If you feel so earnestly about the 
suspension of activity at the Observa- 
tory, it shall not be shut up if I can 
help it. Since I saw you, both Pro- 
fessors Bache and Henry have been 
here, and together with Peirce, we 
have had various talks about the Obser- 
vatory. We found ourselves entirely 
unanimous on the subject; and while 
all entertaining the same views which 
I expressed to you regarding any com- 
mencement upon an inadequate scale, 
and inclining to recommend the policy 
of awaiting a new flood tide, we would 
assuredly none of us urge the closing 
up entirely while you feel so strongly 
opposed to it, as I infer from your let- 
ter. Consequently I feel sure that 
Prof. Bache will authorise me to keep 
some one of my party there. There 
will be some difficulty in finding op- 
portunity to train observers, and those 
already accustomed to the use of the 
class of astronomical instruments which 
we ought to employ are rare in this 
country as yet. There are some ad- 
vantages in employing foreigners, but 
these are usually more than counter- 
balanced by corresponding evils. Far- 
thermore, it is a little difficult to devise 
legitimate Coast Survey work, which 
can now be done there without mount- 
ing the great instruments., and I would 
until they can be intrusted to long experienced 



earnestly dissuade from this 
observers. 

Still I think that all these obstacles may be met and obviated; and that you 
may rest easy on that score for some time to come. Should any interregnum 
occur for a few weeks, do not hesitate to regard it as altogether transient, what- 
ever appearances may be. With Prof. Bache's aid, I will endeavor to make all 
right, and there is not the slightest lack of concert between us. He will, I am 
sure, render every aid, direct and indirect, even at some inconvenience. 

The atrocious mutilation and falsification of this letter will be apparent 
at the most casual glance. The trickery of the Accusers in distorting 
sentences and remarks by the adroit employment of italics and capitals, 
to emphasize words which were not the emphatic ones of the original, 
is manifest. And, though it would be very desirable to call attention to 
the altered passages by some difference of type, it has appeared still 
more so, to place the original and the counterfeit side by side, — as they 
came from their respective authors. 

The deliberate falsehood regarding a broken barometer, will be shown 
farther on, in § 121. The subject is too petty to be discussed twice. 

Besides the omitted passages, which contradict the coloring which the 
Accusers have given to the extracted portions, — I ask attention to the 
change of " regarding" into " adverse to" of " inclining to recom- 



251 

mend" into "favorable to" of "would assuredly" into "yet will." 
The omission of the little word "noiv" in the last quoted paragraph is 
very characteristic; — the omission of the final clause is more important 
though not more systematic. Throughout the entire " Statement," as I 
have often already remarked, I am accused, sometimes directly, some- 
times by implication, of a determination not to mount the large instru- 
ments. To carry out their purpose of making this appear prominent, or 
else to avoid the implied contradiction to what they say I stated of 
Peters's "experience," the Accusers omit the words '• until they can be 
trusted to long experienced observers." These men themselves, admit 
that at the time my letter, above quoted, was written, the Meridian- 
circle had not arrived from Germany; for, on page 48 of their " State- 
ment," we have the following paragraph : 

" On the 10th of November, 1857, the Meridian-circle arrived, and was laid 
away in boxes, with the Transit instrument, which had remained unopened for 
about a year. Both instruments, Dr. Gould had promised to have mounted 
nearly a year and a half before. Torpidity and inaction marked this epoch in 
the history of the Observatory." 

The Accusers do not explain how I could have mounted an instrument 
which had not yet been received, or could have mounted, a year and a 
half before, an instrument which had been received only a year before. 
They perfectly well knew why the large transit instrument was not 
mounted, and why the one originally promised by Prof. Bache was 
employed. It was not advisable to mount so large and expensive an 
instrument until the Trustees should have raised the sum requisite for 
the establishment of a first class Observatory, and until a full corps of 
trained observers should have been ready to enter upon the systematic 
course of observations. I may here remark, for the benefit of the nine 
Accusers, and others ignorant of astronomy, that in the present state 
of that science, and in a first class Observatory, the Transit is used 
chiefly as a complement to other and more complex instruments, and is, 
by itself, of comparatively little value, for such work as can be done here 
now, except in determining time and investigating some few minor or 
unusual problems. 

59. Closing up entirely. — Astonishment of the Trustees. 

The simple reading of my real letter, just given, entirely disposes of the 
two pages of misrepresentation and mendacious comment by which its 
falsified version, on page 44, is followed in the " Statement" of the Accus- 
ers, — and fully exhibits the true character of the Attack and its authors. 

It must be remembered that only " one subordinate of the Coast Sur- 
vey" had been there, up to this time, and that no "closing up" or "sus- 
pension of operations" was proposed, as is evident, not only from the 
fact that no opening had ever been made or operations commenced, 
but also from the omitted passages of my letter. The unavoidable 
necessity of temporarily suspending thrt preparatory work has been 
referred to; but as for the renewed "surprise," "astonishment," 
" indignation ;" — as for the "promises," the " adviser," the " scientific 



252 



counsEL," the " very respectable and gratifying income ;" — as for the 
" earnest entreaties" and " expostulations of the Trustees," the " incom- 
petency of Dr. Gould," &c, &c.„ these and the other similar falsehoods 
or false innuendoes have been already severally answered. 

The "doorkeeper perhaps" (p. 45), is too petty an insinuation. Was 
Dr. Peters a " doorkeeper?" Are " doorkeepers" attached to the lon- 
gitude party of the U. S. Coast Survey ? The fling is contemptible. 
The Accusers cannot do anything in a large way. Even their spite is of 
the petty kind, when possible. 

As an adequate answer to all this dissertation of the Accusers upon 
the alleged effect produced by my letter of Oct. 3, to Mr. Olcott, — let 
me quote the opening sentence of his reply, dated 1857, Oct. 6. It was 
thus : 

" I have just received your favor of the 3d instant, and feel much encour- 
aged by what you say concerning our Observatory!" 

And the rest of the letter was in accordance with the feeling here 

expressed. 



60. Quotation on page 46. 



From the 



Statement of thi 
page 46. 



Trustees," 



About this time, a letter was ad- 
dressed by the President of the Board, 
to Prof. Bache, in which the facts that 
had been brought to the notice of Dr. 
Gould were urged upon his attention, 
and he was appealed to, to say whether 
the progress Dr. Gould had made at 
the Observatory, was such as the 
promises held forth had warranted the 
Trustees in anticipating. His reply 
was as follows : 

<: Iain not conscious that, in my en- 
gagements, I have forgotten the encour- 
agement given to you to act in regard 
to the Dudley Observatory. It has so 
far been carried on by the Coast Sur- 
vey. My expectations in regard to the 
endowment of the Institution have, I 
dare say, been higher than, with less 
enthusiasm for the work and the men 
engaged in it, I should have entertain- 
ed. Nevertheless, I cannot reproach 
myself with any want of frankness. We 
have all labored disinterestedly and with 
some energy, you most emphatically so. 
If our expectations have not been real- 
ized on either side, I doubt whether 
saying so to each other will advance the 
ends we have in prospect. I know it is 
so with myself, for I feel the last para- 
graph in your letter as casting a damper 
upon my future exertions, by the dis- 
paragement of the past." 



What Prof. Bache wrote to Mr. Olcott. 
1857, Nov. 18. 

"I am not conscious, that in my 
engagements, I have forgotten the en- 
couragement given to you, to act in 
regard to the Dudley Observatory. It 
has so far been carried on as of the 
Coast Survey. Its Director and his 
assistants have been Coast Sur- 
vey officers. My time and servi- 
ces HAVE, ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, 
BEEN GIVEN TO YOU, WHEN, AND AS, 
THE! HAVE BEEN ASKED FOR. I HAVE 
NOT, IN ANY PART OF MY ACTIONS, 
SEPARATED MYSELF FROM, OR GONE 
COUNTER TO THE WISHES OF, Dr. 

Gould or Prof. Peirce, with whom 
i constantly consulted on all 
matters relating to the observa- 
TORY. My expectations in regard to 
the endowment of the institution have, 
I dare say, been higher than with less 
enthusiasm for the work and men en- 
gaged in it, I should have entertained. 
Nevertheless, I can not reproach my- 
self with any want of frankness in 

STATING TO YOU WHEN CONSULTED, 
THE EXTENT OF ENDOWMENT NECES- 
SARY FOR A FIRST CLASS INSTITUTION, 
SUCH AS YOU AND ALL CONCERNED IN 

it desire to found, and such as would 

be WORTHY OF THE DIRECTOR WHOM 

you have in view. We have all In- 
bored disinterestedly and with some ea- 
ergy you must emphatically say, and 



if our just expectations on either side 
have not been realized, 1 doubt whether 
saying so to each other will advance 
the ends are have in prospect. I know- 
it is so with myself, for I fee] the last 
paragraph in your letter as casting a 
damper upon my future exertions by 
the disparagement of the past. 1 shall, 

HOWKVKR, NOT ALLOW A N Y SUCH MO- 
MENTARY. FEELING TO INFLUENCE MY 
ACTIONS, BUT SHALL CONTINUE IX FULL 
ACCORD WITH THOSE WHOM 1 KNOW 

have the i xt er est of the dudley 
Observatory and of science 
tirely at heart." 

The letter to which this is a reply dated Nov. 14, was in no way such 
as the Accusers assert. It referred exclusively to Peters, — and con- 
tained no such appeal regarding " the progress Dr. Gould had made at 
the Observatory," as they now allege. The only allusiou to myself in 
the letter is contained in these words : 

" Dr. Gould left here this morning, and with your sanction, will place two 
persons in charge of the Observatory, and I hope they will be persons fully 
qualified not only to perform the work of the Coast Survey, but also to do 
something for the Observatory, to give it character and favor with the public." 

And the letter closed with the following sentence, — to which the pas- 
sage misquoted from Prof. Bache's reply exclusively relates : 

" If you have, in your numerous and pressing engagements, forgotten some 
of the encouragements under which we have acted, you will pardon this allu- 
sion to them, and also the farther remark that I will hazard, in saying that 
our performances have more than realized our promises, and that we shall 
endeavor not to disappoint any expectations which we have authorized you to 
indulge." 

Only one word was italicised in this passage of Prof. Bache's original 
letter; — but, in order to call attention to the gross mutilations and per- 
versions it contains, I have distinguished some passages by small capi- 
tals. The most insidious changes are, as customary with the work of 
slippery tricksters, those which at first glance attract the least 
attention ; and I ask especial attention to the passage which the authors 
of the pamphlet have put in italics, in order to make it the occasion for 
a subsequent sting of their benefactor. The Observatory had " so far 
been carried on as of the Coast Survey." How small a change — four 
letters into two — "asof" into "by!" Yet how great a flame they 
have striven to elicit from this little spark ! It is the cunning of a 
sharp practitioner, — but not worthy of a Judge. 

Next, the entire sentence defining the meaning of these words •* as of 
the Coast Survey" is suppressed ; since, if honestly given, it would 
destroy the coloring so insidiously and carefully applied to this passage 
by the learned editor ; — and especially would have defeated the object of 
the new version, " You most emphatically so." 

Again, — immediately after the word "frankness," with which the 
Accusers represent the fourth sentence of the alleged extract as ending, 



254 

there were in the original forty-one words defining this "frankness," and 
intimately connected with it in the sentence. These fraudulently sup- 
pressed words would have made manifest what was the subject really under 
discussion ; they would have illustrated the continual allusions to the 
endowment, which had been so confidently promised by Mr. Olcott, and the 
funds given for which had been unwarrantably disbursed ; they would 
have defeated another purpose of the falsifier, which was to represent 
Professor Bache as endeavoring to defend himself against a charge of 
" want of frankness ; " — and they would have shown the relations which 
actually existed between Mr. Olcott and myself, so lately as the time 
when this letter was written. 

And finally the closing passage of the letter is omitted, because incon- 
sistent with the comments of the Accusers, which are to follow. These 
remarks of the Accusers I will reprint : 

" The Trustees had hoped that Prof. Bache would adopt a different tone, and 
when the grounds of complaint against Dr. Gould were brought to his know- 
ledge, that he would have at least urged upon that gentleman, who was his 
subordinate in the Coast Survey, greater zeal and efficiency in the prosecution 
of the Observatory enterprize. They regretted to find that the charges against 
Dr. Gould were declared to be ' dampers ' upon the ' future exertions ' of Prof. 
Bache." 

To give apparent existence to the pretended "charges against Dr. 
Gould," (which had neither been made nor implied) the Accusers now 
say, that the last sentence in their quotation from Prof. Bache's letter, 
referred to such charges, which were declared to be "dampers," &c. It 
is one of the boldest of Mr. Olcott's many falsifications when he speaks 
of the " complaint against Dr. Gould " in his letter of Nov. 14 : — not only 
because I was not alluded to in it, except one very incidental mention ; but 
also because in acknowledging November 23, Prof. Bache's letter of the 
18th, he wrote: 

" I certainly did not mean to complain of the past, for I regard our success 
thus far as transcending our most sanguine hopes at the beginning!" 

See the remainder of this letter in § 66. 

Now what was the "last paragraph" in Mr. Olcott's letter, to which 
Prof. Bache alluded ? It was that very paragraph given above, which 
contained the insinuation against Prof. Bache : — ' ' If you have in your 
numerous and pressing engagements forgotten," &c. ; an ungrateful 
insinuation which Prof. Bache rebuked, in the passage just quoted, by a 
statement of his services, and by reminding Mr. Olcott that the promised 
endowment, — the condition precedent, — had not been forthcoming. 
What an exhibition of bad faith ! 

In this same letter Mr. Olcott had displayed his want of the first 
elements of astronomical knowledge, by mistaking longitude for latitude, 
and saying, 

"What we now want, and immediately, is the determination of the latitude 
of our Observatory, to secure $2,000 which the Regents of the University are 
authorized to pay when the service is performed." 

The latitude had already been determined under my direction. 



Let the reader remember that the letter of Mr. Olcott contained no 
" charges " whatever against me, — no " grounds of complaint ; " that no 
unimproved opportunity for "zeal and efficiency" had been exhibited and 
that even had there been such, the Coast Survey relations between Prof. 
Bache and myself would have had nothing to do with any reprimand or 
stimulus ; Prof. Bache's office as a member of the Scientific Council having 
nothing to do with his functions as Superintendent of the Coast Survey. 
The closing remark of the Accusers, teeming as it is with a triple falsehood, 
is of course intended to bias the minds of those who may also have read 
the " Defence of Dr. Gould by the Scientific Council," by implying the 
existence of some overweening favoritism. 

61. Recall of Peters. 

From the "Statement of the Trustees," What I wrote to Mr. Olcott in a letter 
page 47. marked " Confidential," 1857, Nov. 5. 

On the 6th of November, Professor 
Bache wrote to Dr. Peters, ordering 
that gentleman to leave Albany forth- 
with, and report himself at Cambridge. Tj , „ ., , , . 
Dr. Gould, on the same day, wrote to , f H \ te " s ™ that hc has dec ' ded to 

5. Tni^tPP ■ detaCh Dr - PeteFS fr0m m J P art 7» and 

a irusiee. transfer him to Prof. Peirce's. (He has 

" Prof. Bache has decided to detach been doi a divided duty between us 

Dr. Peters from my party. In the wis- the past year.) In the wisdom and 

dorn and policy of this course, I cannot ^^ of 'p^ B > g C(mrse j Q tMg 

but coincide. respect I cannot but coincide; and write 

The Trustees viewed the matter in a to assure you that we shall use our best 

different light, and looked with dismay endeavors to make the new arrange- 

at the recall of Dr. Peters from the ments very satisfactory to you. 
Observatory, for what appeared to 
them very insufficient reasons. 

This subject has been sufficiently explained in Chapters IV and V of 
Part I, to which I refer the reader, after asking his attention to the 
phrases following the passage just quoted from the "Statement:' 
"apparent jealousy," "removal of Dr. Peters," "unworthy," "motives 
which prompted," &c. That Mr. Olcott, or in other words "the 
Trustees " had nothing to do with the arrangements of the Coast Survey, — 
of which they now assume to be judges, — that they were incompetent to 
judge regarding the causes which demanded the transfer of Dr. Peters, 
or the diligence and success with which scientific work was prosecuted, — 
and neither had occasion for "dismay," nor "looked with" it, nor felt it ; — 
need no reiteration here. Their comments and their rhetoric in this con- 
nection are of a piece with those in other parts of the pamphlet. I will 
merely quote from Mr. Olcott's reply, November 9, to the identical 
letter which, as they now say, occasioned the " dismay." 

"I have your esteemed favors of the 6th and 7th. Whatever our Scientific 
Council decide upon, we shall deem the best. . . . I infer that Prof. Bache 
intends to supply his place at the Observatory, and I have no doubt that the suc- 
cessor will worthily fill the place and prove entirely acceptable to us. . . . 
" With verv great and sincere regard, Dear Sir, yours, 

"TH. W. OLCOTT." 



256 

* And from a letter which Dr. Armsby wrote me, 1857, October 5 : 

" Peters says this is a ' poor, very poor, country, — all sham and show.' We 
shall be satisfied with whoever you may select, for the present, or temporary 
occupant of the Observatory; but hope j^ou will be able to arrange to keep it 
open in some way or other, until something more favorable presents.'* 

62. Torpidity and Inaction. 

The Accusers begin their 48th page with more remarks concerning 
torpidity and inaction. Yet it will be remembered that I was not in any 
way bound to come at all to the Dudley Observatory. Neither myself 
nor the Scientific Council were ever committed to my coming, unless 
funds, yielding an income of from $10,000 to $12,000, were raised. 
These funds were not obtained. It was a voluntary sacrifice on my part, 
and in fulfilment of no pledge, that I agreed in December, 1857, to take 
charge of the establishment, with its avowedly exhausted treasury. It 
is as useless to charge upon me the delays incident to the manufacture of 
instruments and to the absence of funds, as it is to charge upon me 
expenditures which I never directed. 

The Accusers endeavor to produce effect by the trick of making their 
falsification of Prof. Bache's letter of November 14, (of which they do not 
mention the date,) on page 46, precede the letter of Nov. 6, on page 47, 
and the notice of the arrival of the Circle Nov. 10, on page 48. But the 
exposure of their fraudulent mutilation and garbling will now prevent 
even the larger manoeuvre, to say nothing of the smaller, from accom- 
plishing its design. 

63. Ineffectual appeals. — Discipline. 
The attempt to make it appear that Dr. Peters was recalled from 
Albany to Cambridge by the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, 
because of " apparent jealousy" excited "by the terms of commendation 
in which the public press had spoken of" him, is ridiculous. He was an 
ordinary employee of the work, occupying no space in the eye of the pub- 
lic. He had neglected his duties as a computer, not furnishing his lists of 
occultations in proper time, and had applied for assistance in doing what 
his successor (a young American just out of college), has ably executed 
without help, and for less remuneration. He was under the direction of 
Prof. Peirce, who was of opinion that the work could not be attended to 
properly unless he came to Cambridge. On being ordered there he 
resigned, and though time was given him to consider his action, he did not 
retract his resignation. There could not be a plainer necessity for official 
action on the part of the Superintendent, nor a more absurd resistance to 
authority on the part of the computer. That the kindness of Prof. Bache 
induced him to explain his grounds of action to Dr. Peters, and the gene- 
rosity of Prof. Peirce, led him also to discuss the propriety of his direc- 
tions, when it was sufficient merely to state them, only shows Dr. Peters 
in a more unamiable light, as mistaking stubbornness for firmness. 
The attempt to justify a refractory subordinate who rewarded his benefac- 
tors with injury and disloyalty ; and the remark about subjecting the 
Trustees to "discipline for their insubordination" is so puerile that I 



257 

wonder at it even in connection with so much which is malignant ; thus 
speakin^ of a man whose assistants love him as a friend, as habitually 
abusin" his power. To speak of an officer of a department, himself under 
authority, as being "accustomed to the exercise of arbitrary power," 
would be ludicrous, were it not wicked. The sympathy expressed for 
the " inoffensive Peters" is appropriately followed up by a denunciation 
of the citizens who have sustained the Council, as being "tools" of Prof. 
Bache's "proverbial sagacity." 

64. No Extenuating Circumstances. 

From the "Statement of the Trustees," What I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 1857, 

page 49. Nov. 20. 

For me to urge Prof. Bache to take 
farther responsibility is out of the ques- 
tion. His contributions and exertions 
for the Observatory have been greater 
Dr. Gould, too, when appealed to, than your citizens probably compre- 
stood firm. He could see no extenua- hend. And it seems as though some 
ting circumstances in the case. He adverse influence turned to his disad- 
says : vantage everything which he has done 

for us. At present I am held respon- 
sible for what he had done to help Dr. 
Peters, a copy of whose letter to the 
Superintendent has been officially sent 
" Dr. Peters was appointed in conse- me. He was appointed in consequence 
quence of my intercession, against Prof, of my personal intercession, against the 
Bache's inclination. Now, after some Professor's inclination, and stationed 
fifteen months, he proves disloyal, de- at t h e Dudley Observatory upon my 
clines complying with instructions, and ap pii ca tion. Now, after some fifteen 
complains of being treated as a mere montns , he proves disloyal, " declines 
computer; and Prof. Bache finds imex- complying » with instructions, and 
pectedly an enemy and detractor, where com £ lains ° of bei « treated J mere 
he was entitled to look for a grateful, C0 4 uter .,,_ and o the Professor finds 
devoted assistant." . r , ',, z° ° , " u ^° 

unexpectedly an enemy and detractor 

where he was entitled to look for a 
grateful, devoted assistant. 

65. Public Correspondence. — Reluctance to part with Dr. Peters. 

The Accusers say : 

" On the 20th of November, a letter from the citizens of Albany was pre- 
sented to Dr. Peters, expressive of regret at his intended removal. 
" To this letter Dr. Peters sent an appropriate reply." 

The letter to Dr. Peters, — prepared, as I am credibly informed, by the 
Hon. Ira Harris, the author in chief, and responsible editor of the 
"Statement of the Trustees," — was an inflated eulogium, prepared at 
the instance of Mr. Olcott, for the purpose of creating the appearance of 
that " outside pressure" and " public opinion" which it was considered so 
desirable to bring to bear upon Prof. Bache and myself. Every good 
natured person, to whom it was handed, signed it when informed that it 
was intended merely as a kindly farewell to a person who had been at the 
Observatory for more than a year, doing acceptable service. His 
" appropriate reply" was " sent" somewhat more than a month afterwards, 
when an egotistical document, abounding in offensive innuendoes and 



258 

insulting allusions aimed at Prof. Bache and myself, was also published 
in the newspapers. In the preparation of this response, too, I am 
informed that the author of the letter to which it replied had some part ; 
and it was to this document that reference was made in my letter, mis- 
quoted by the Accusers in the alleged speech of the late Mr. Wilder. 
[" Statement," page 66]. It was supposed that when a copy of this 
printed " letter" had been transmitted to Prof. Bache, he might " feel 
constrained" to reverse his action, — and a letter couched in " very hum- 
ble" terms and assuming very great "humility," was addressed him by 
Mr. Olcott, urging that Dr. Peters might be permitted to recall his resig- 
nation. This, Prof. Bache was willing to grant, and so Mr. Olcott was 
informed at the time by a member of the Council ; but that such permis- 
sion must be followed by obedience of orders, was an indispensable 
condition, and this the " very humble " Mr. Olcott did not approve. In 
Prof. Bache's reply of Nov. 27, he first politely expresses his dissent from 
the humble position of Mr. Olcott, in the sentence over which, as a sweet 
morsel, the Accusers now gloat, (p. 49.) 

66. Denunciations by Prof. Bache and Dr. Gould. 

" But despite his professed regard for the President," say the Accu- 
sers, page 49 : 

" Prof. Bache, in his reply, grew more severe than ever in his denunciation 
of Dr. Peters, declaring that it was ' contrary to his own judgment ' to employ 
him. So determined was his purpose, that he seemed impatient that any one, 
even the President, for whom he professed to entertain so great esteem, should 
dare interpose between Dr. Peters and the full measure of his vengeance." 

And just below they say : 

" On the 24th of November, Dr. Gould again writes in denunciatory lan- 
guage of Dr. Peters." 

Let us examine the " denunciations," — which like the " fulminations " 
on succeeding pages, seem to haunt the author's brain. 

Mr. Olcott, who here again calls himself "the President," had in the 
letter of 1857, Nov. 23, already cited, written as follows: 

" I readily confess to the importance of due subordination and loyalty, — and 
the confession involves the acknowledgement of my own transgressions in pre- 
suming to interfere, even to the extent I have, with the prerogative of others. 
For I am not, raj dear Sir, unmindful of the humble position I occupy in this 
great scientific enterprise." .... 

"I certainly was willing to co-operate with distinguished scientific men and 
was proud to enlist as a subordinate under your banners. It might never have 
been revived from the tomb of its repose, but through your inspirations, — and 
to this I alluded without intending offence when I spoke of our reliance on y our 
encouragement. I certainly did not mean to complain of the past, for I regard 
our success so far as transcending our most sanguine hopes at the beginning. 
The services rendered by Prof. Henry and yourself in New York enabled us to 
gain a footing there, — and your identification with the enterprise has given it a 
passport to the confidence and regards of the nation." .... 

" I would not interfere with matters concerning the progress of science, but 
with the pecuniary concerns. I should hope that I might in a friendly spirit 
make suggestions, without throwing a damper upon the exertions of any one, 
much less upon the exertions of those for whom, and under whom, I am 



259 

laboring. . . . And with one or two assistants under Dr. Peters, 

we could keep it alive and before the public, until the Ileliometer is finished, 
and Dr. Gould would be willing to identify himself with the Institution. And 
in the mean time we should be adding to our strength by fresh contributions." 

And as a very significant postscript, he added : 

" We are proud of the achievements and high character of the ' Coast Sur- 
vey,' and if assailed we are ready with strong arms and warm hearts to do 
battle for it. We have friends at Court." 

Prof. Bache, in replying, Nov. 27, wrote, besides the paragraphs 
quoted on pages 49 and 50 of the " Statement" : 

" It grieves me to think that you can so far misunderstand me, as to think 
that I do not appreciate your efforts in behalf of Dr. Peters; and it makes me 
like him the less, that he can have given so good and just a man a basis for 
hard judgement of one whom I supposed you only knew with favor from his 
disinterested desire to co-operate with you in a great work. 

"I regret to find that my judgement of the character of Dr. Peters differs so 
much from yours. Into this it woulclbe painful for me to go, but I may assure 
you that I appointed him on the Coast Survey to gratify Dr. Gould, and contrary 
to my own judgement, and I leave you to judge whether he has rewarded the 
Doctor for this friendly act, or has brought trouble and vexation to him. If Dr. 
Gould has not been restrained by the great desire to spare you pain, I am sure 
you are aware that his view of the case does not differ from mine." .... 

" I supposed that Peters was interested in the Pleiades work, that he appre- 
ciated the advantage of his position with Prof. Peirce in regard to that work, 
and that he needed that employment, which was what I engaged him for. These 
arguments, a part of which you use, should have prevented him from suddenly 
throwing up his place and putting Prof. Peirce to the inconvenience of obtaining 
and training a new assistant. No sign has. yet come from him of regret for 
his course." .... 

" lam, my dear Sir, as ever, most ready to co-operate in the great work 
with you, and thank you kindly for your expression of good will towards the 
Coast Survey, the step-child of our Government." 

What terrible " denunciations !" What insatiable " vengeance !" 
The two paragraphs quoted from this letter by the Accusers are in the 
main correct. The word " convictions" is however substituted for " con- 
clusions." 

My own "denunciatory language of Dr. Peters" is contained in the 
following extracts from my letter of 1857, Nov. 24, to Mr. Olcott : 

" Prof. Bache tells me that a letter from you leads him to suppose that the 
legislative appropriation may be eecured by a thorough determination of the 
latitude of the Observatory. I apprehend, however, that this was a slip of the 
pen, for longitude. Otherwise our course is very easy. Nearly, if not quite, 
a year ago I requested Dr. Peters to make a careful and extended series of 
observations for the latitude of the Observatory, and obtained from the Coast 
Survey office and placed at his disposal for this purpose, an excellent Zenith 
Telescope and Transit instrument. The former of these is still at the Obser- 
vatory, and the latter I detained until the middle of September, after all the 
observations were made." 

"The series of latitude observations was very full, more than ample for the 
object in view, — and the original programme prepared here in Cambridge, 
though subsequently modified on account of the delay in completing the shut- 
ters, which prevented the observation of some of the stars selected on account 
of the advanced season. I have long been expecting a report from Dr. P., con- 
taining the definite computations and results." 



260 

« l We have all of us in the Scientific Council regarded the Observatory as in 
the hands of the Coast Survey until arrangements upon a larger scale should 
supersede this. Upon this construction, there has been no difficulty in placing 
Coast Survey instruments there and using the means of the Survey in a great 
variety of ways. With any other understanding this would have been impos- 
sible; and it was from this point of view that I looked at the possibility of a 
telegraphic longitude connection. The recent singular course of Dr. Peters has 
apparently annoyed Prof. Bache more than I should have supposed possible for 
so small an. affair ; for he seems to have received an impression that his official 
action has been made a subject of criticism, and that Dr. P. has been repre- 
senting, not without success, that the interests and aims of the Observatory and 
of the Survey, were not only distinct, but even divergent." 

No wonder that such " denunciatory language" shocked the feelings of 
my tender-hearted and high-toned Accusers ! 

67. Official connection with the Coast Survey. 

This subject has been very fully discussed in Part First, pages 61, 69, 
as also incidentally in this Part Seccyad, and needs nothing more here. 

The attempt to make me appear guilty of falsehood, because, in Nov., 
1857, when the Observatory was a Coast Survey statiou, I spoke of it 
"as in the hands of the Coast Survey;" and in the spring of 1858, 
after the compact, denied that there was any "official "connection 
between the two institutions, has also been exposed " Defence" § 23. 
See also this Reply, § 60. 

68. Secret appointment of Peters in December, 1857. 

The Accusers state (p. 50) : ' 

" When the 1st of December came, Dr. Gould being still absent from the 
city, Dr. Peters was requested to remain at the Observatory and take care of 
the costly instruments and property there, until other arrangements could be 
made." 

Those who have read the close of Chap. IY, and the beginning of 
Chap. V, of the First Part are aware that no information was ever given 
me or any of the Council, relative to the alleged "request" of "the 
Trustees" to Dr, Peters, that he would remain. The only information 
ever given me upon the subject was contained in Peters's own note of 
Jan. 7, previous to which time I had not suspected this double dealing 
on Mr. Olcott's part, — for he was- the person chiefly known as "the 
Trustees," no meeting of the Board having been held during the interval. 
A janitor resided in the building ; — no " costly instruments" or 
" property" were exposed, nor did they require or receive " the care of 
Dr. Peters." It was a simple question of domicile. [See pp. 63, 64.] 

After the proceedings of January 9 and 19, Mr. Olcott had asked my 
consent to Peters's remaining, as an act of kindness, and this consent 
had been promptly and cordially given. Since Dec. 1, I had visited 
Albany three times, and Prof. Peirce once; but the existence of such 
an arrangement with Dr. Peters had been intimated to neither of us. 
This secret employment of the man was, if real, an act of indecency 
towards the Scientific Council, and especially towards Prof. Bache and 
hi y self. 



261 

69. Visit of Prof. Peirce in December. 

The motives of Prof. Peirce in this visit were two-fold. In the first 
place Peters had retained the occultations and other computations which 
he had been engaged in making under Prof. Peirce's superintendence, 
and although his connection with the Coast Survey had ceased Dec. 1, 
the official directions of the Superintendent and the requests of Prof. 
Peirce for the delivery of the papers had been disregarded in the same 
manner as he had failed to comply with the similar directions for the 
delivery of the observations and computations for the latitude and longi- 
tude of the Observatory. In the second place, the course of Mr. Olcott 
relative to Peters's withdrawal had been such, that, — since at the time 
none of us doubted his truthfulness, sincerity or honor, — Prof. Peirce sup- 
posed a simple oral statement of the true relations, a statement which 
^notwithstanding what the Accusers now assert regarding my " denuncia- 
tions,") I did not wish to make, — would show Mr. Olcott the misappre- 
hensions under which we thought him laboring. It was during this visit 
that a question of Mr. Olcott regarding " the Professorship at Columbia 
College" led to the full explanation mentioned by the Council in the 
"Defence," $ 6, and alluded to in § 32, p. 216 of this Reply. Prof. 
Peirce found the calumnies against myself and Prof. Bache already in 
circulation, and so informed me upon his return, and advised me to go 
on to Albany in person, at once. Accordingly I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 
1857, Dec. 12, to inform him that I should come within a few days. 
The letter contained a passage (incorrectly given by the Accusers, p. 51) 
one sentence of which was : 

" I regret that the course of the current, which seemed^running so smoothly 
a month ago, should have changed to the degree which he describes." 

The Accusers have quoted this, and even italicised the clause as above, 
without observing how thoroughly it contradicts their assertions about 
the dismay which they now represent as having prevailed among " the 
Trustees" five weeks before, and their false assertion upon page 46 of 
their " Statement" that Mr. Olcott had, in a letter to Prof. Bache, 
complained of my course. (See § 60, p. 253). 

70. Report to Scientific Council. 

In the " Defence," § 4, the Council quote from my Report of Dec. 
21,- — which Report, like everything else which I have done or can be 
made to seem to have done, forms the basis for an attack. They speak 
of the fact that "the Trustees were entirely ignorant" of it, as though 
it were the duty of the Scientific Council to exhibit the minutes of all 
their meetings, and to communicate all their Reports to " the Trustees." 
This is part of the present scheme for representing the Council as having 
been an "advisory" body, — and without an independent organization. 
The Scientific Council held regular meetings in due form ; and besides 
this report of Dec. 21, 1857, I submitted seven others previous to our 
attempted expulsion in June and July ; — and in these reports had 
informed them of the progress of affairs, — and of the encouragements 



262 

and the obstacles which presented themselves. I will refer to the 
"Defence" for the extract cited which the writer of the passage in the 
" Statement" now professionally calls "a species of indictment." And 
although it seems to the Accusers very proper for them publicly to 
declare me responsible for expenditures which 1 neither made, nor advised, 
nor approved, and to send out twenty-five thousand copies of their 
declaration, — it is yet imputed to me as a heinous offence that I had 
expressed in a business report to my colleagues, the fact of my anxiety 
and embarrassment at the "lavish and injudicious expenditures of Dr. 
Armsby." It will be borne in mind that this extract from my Report 
of Dec. 21, 1857, was not published by the Council until July, 1858, — 
after Messrs. Olcott and Armsby had conceived and executed the 
iniquitous design of declaring me responsible for the pecuniary mismanage- 
ment ; an idea which had not occurred to them, or at any rate had not 
been suggested by them, until late in the spring of 1858. 

71. Slanderi?ig and Maligning. 

" It will be remembered," say my Accusers, page 51, 

" That Dr. Gould, in several previous letters to the Trustees, as well as 
in the last, had professed entire satisfaction with all that had been done by 
them;"— 

and on page 52 : 

" When all the history of Dr. Gould's connection with the Observatory is 
borne in mind — when his letters from which we have quoted, making promises, 
drawing upon the funds of the Institution, ordering experimental instruments, 
and professing, not only entire satisfaction, but enthusiastic admiration, for the 
course of the Trustees, are remembered, what interpretation can be placed 
upon this remarkable document ? For a year past, while making all these pro- 
mises and professions, he had been thus slandering and maligning the Trustees 
to his most intimate friends. If facts can ever be significant of individual 
character, they must be so in this instance." 

The letters from which the Accusers have " quoted," the " promises," 
the " drawing upon the funds," the " experimental instruments," have 
all been considered by me in their proper places. It remains to say a 
few words of the "professing not only entire satisfaction, but enthusias- 
tic admiration, for the course of the Trustees," — and of the " slander- 
ing and maligning," "for a year past." And my object can hardly be 
accomplished in a better way than by quoting from a letter which I 
wrote and sent to Mr. Olcott, a little more than a year previously, — and 
the reception of which he has acknowledged. The character and amount 
of the "slandering and maligning" of Dr. Armsby, — or as the Accusers 
here call him, " the Trustees," — may be understood from the perusal of 
this letter, which is in the same tone as all my complaints of Dr. Armsby, 
up to the difficulties of Dec, 1857. 

Letter to Mr. Olcott, 1856, Nov. 3. 

" I had made up my mind to write you to-day, even before receiving yours 
of this morning. The truth is, I fear things are going on, all wrong, on the hill. 
And because important steps are decided on without sufficient reflection, or 
without an understanding of the matter, or from the impulses of the moment. 
You will agree with me that there must be one head, if things are to go on har- 
moniously. I love, honor and respect our dear friend, the Doctor, too much 



2G3 

to say a word which could give him needless pain, — but cannot longer doubt 
my duty to let you know that things are in a very bad way. Were it pos- 
sible, I would not hesitate a moment to volunteer my services in coining od 
instantly and assuming the direction of things, should you be disposed to intrust 
them. Indeed, I had supposed every end attained in exercising guidance from 
here; but this does not work, for, with the best intentions all round, my coun- 
sel seems to be quite without weight, when any different proposition follows it 
from another. And the fate of all my plans reminds me o£ the great stones 
which can so easily be started down hill; but, after that, neither guided, nor 
restrained, nor stopped at the right place. Of course the explanation is palpable. 
I understand the state of things, and am aware that you must; and am far from 
writing in irritation of any kind. All the trouble comes from having " too much 
of a good thing," — and certainly too much is better than too little. — So do not 
think me touchy. But will it not be best to stop things for a while where they 
are ? The Kingston stone project was directly in opposition to my advice, 
though of course I tried to help along when it was too late to remedy. So 
too with other matters, the shape of the building, the site, &c, &c. You ought 
not to be troubled with all this, and should not be, were it not wrong for me to 
be longer silent, while you are relying in some measure upon me. As for 
, I warned against him in July, and proved, as I thought, how untrust- 
worthy he was, but the Dr. appealed to me so earnestly not to mention it to 

you that I abstained. Now the dismissal of appears to me a mistake 

of the first magnitude; for though he was occupying a false position in some 
respects, his fertility of device in overcoming existing obstacles was a great 
support. We could not have got along without him; and his loss is still a severe 
one. He has, I fear, been made the victim of other men'j knavery. Had I 
been consulted in the premises, or even suspected that such a step was medita- 
ted, I would have made all this clear to you and the Doctor — Peters is in a state 
of excitement which most certainly impairs his usefulness to a very great extent, 
and lam thinking of withdrawing him, chiefly for his own sake. The builder, 
architect, contractor, astronomer, are all in trouble. And the one, single, only, 
reason is that our friend* acts incautiously or from a half knowledge, — and does 
not let his judgement keep pace with his zeal. 

You will have understood about the calculating engine. It would indeed be 
a treasure, a source of real glory, pride and honor to the Observatory — hardly 
to be over-estimated; but I would certainly not have suggested the spending of 
money, when you need to raise it. — And had it not been for the hope of divert- 
ing that active mind from the Observatory into a more congenial and useful 
channel. Too late, however. 

Mr. Hague writes to-day half acknowledging the failure of his plans at 
Kingston, and asking advice. I shall reply, declining to give it; for I see in 
every new plan at present, merely the repetition of past embarrassments. 
There must be responsibility somewhere, if the matter is to be brought to a suc- 
cessful conclusion. And responsibility will not be obtained without a corres- 
ponding delegation of power. To go on under present arrangements would, I 
fear, be to go on wrong, doing what would have to be undone again. My pre- 
sent suggestion would be to cover in the building roughly as it stands and stop 
for the winter. Present discordances will grow softened by time, and we know 
by experience how soon one unchangeable plan may be superseded by another, 
more manageable, one. Meantime plans can be arranged, so that nothing but 
their simple execution will remain; and the interest money of your fund may 
accumulate enough to cover the depredations already made. 

You see, my dear Sir, how frankly I write, and will understand my feelings, 
and my regret at what may give you annoyance. Still these little troubles are 
trifling compared with the splendid end we have in view, and it could not be 
expected that the course of any great enterprise would "run smooth" in all 
respects. You have a glorious institution in sight, and as brilliant success, I 
doubt not, as you can desire. Please destroy this sheet, that it may never be 
the source of annoyance to our good friend. I wrote him on Saturday at great 
length and as strongly as seemed safe, not to wound his feelings. Perhaps he 
will read the letter to you. 

*Dr. Armsby. 



264 

From Mr. OlcoWs Reply 1856, Nov. 5. 

"Our mutual friend occasionally manifests displeasure when I resist with 
decision some of his suggestions and plans. . : . . . He is, I know, most 
anxious to meet your every wish ; and you must bear with the fertility of his 
genius as manifested in abounding schemes, numerous plans and various enter- 
prises. They are all respectively excellent, but rather difficult of simultaneous 

execution I have destroyed your letter, as requested, and shall 

be glad to hear from you if I can in any way be of service. The Doctor has 
more constant intercourse than I have or can have, with the Observatory, 
Peters, &c, and will I am sure carry out any suggestions which you may 
make." 

I think these extracts will speak for themselves. My letter is a speci- 
men of the intensest " slandering and maligning," in which I indulged! 

72. Refere?ice to Council. 

" About this time, much public feeling being enlisted in behalf of Dr. Peters, 
the following letters passed between Dr. Gould and the other members of the 
Scientific Council, which, as now appears from the report of December 21st, 
already alluded to, was a mere formal, or Pickwickian, official correspondence, 
designed for effect.'* 

Thus say the Accusers (pp. 52, 53.) The circumstances of the case 
have been already narrated in full. Even after the formal acceptance of 
Mr. Olcott's first proposition of Dec. 21, both by myself and by Prof. 
Bachefor the Council, a proposition involving such hard terms, and imply- 
ing so much sacrifice on my part, that Mr. Olcott probably did not deem 
its frank and complete acceptance, possible, — even after this compact 
(which effectually and designedly relieved the Observatory from the embar- 
rassments growing out of the intrigue with Dr. Peters,) had been made 
and acted upon on both sides — the appointment of this person was again 
urged upon me. This new attempt, the whole design of which I did not 
then comprehend, but which seemed to me to break through every limit of 
decorum, decency and fairness, I resolved to bring to a final conclusion 
by referring again the whole matter to the Council, and being guided 
by their decision. On the same day, 1857, Dec. 23, I sent them from 
Albany my request for their official advice, [" Statement" p. 53,] and 
on receiving at Cambridge their reply, I inclosed it immediately to 
Mr. Olcott, together with a copy of my own letter. These are given 
by the Accusers correctly on pages 53 and 54. 

73. Offer of place to Dr. Peters. 

A kindly and most undeserved act on my part, in offering to aid 
Peters, is tortured into the semblance of a tricky manoeuvre. 

The Accusers professing to quote an alleged speech of the late Mr. 
Wilder, say, page 66 : 

" But only two days after this expression of his lack of faith in the trust- 
worthiness of Dr. Peters, when Dr. Peters was found to be too much of a man 
for Coast Survey purposes, wishing to get rid of this great trial of his faith 
and patience, and having grace ec to bear other people's trials with Christian 
fortitude,*' he sent to Dr. Peters a communication, tendering him a position 
away from Albany, at a salary of $1,200 to $1,800 a year!" 



265 

And on page 54, the Accusers also say : — 

"Of this letter Dr. Peters took no notice, understanding the spirit that dic- 
tated it." 

For four years, every step of Dr. Peters, previous to the last fatal one, 
had been made through my agency or after consultation with me. His 
emigration to America, his appointment as aid in the Coast Survey, his 
income from private computations, his stationment in Albany, the 
increase of his pay, the supply of a dwelling, furniture and fuel for him 
in the Observatory, the offer of a place under Lieut. Gilliss, — all had 
taken place through my participation. I had discovered, too late, that 
he was not the single-hearted person I had supposed ; yet had not made 
this discovery an occasion for unkind treatment. To the very end, I 
treated him with kindness, and up to this day at which I write, in Dec. 
1858, have not returned him evil, for his evil and his ingratitude. I had 
declined appointing him my assistant, under circumstances already 
known to the reader; — but had offered him every aid in my power. 
Three weeks earlier, when he had spoken of desiring to join an expedi- 
tion to South America, T had promised to assist him in any desired way, 
and on the 23d of December, — the very day on which the letter cited in 
the last section was addressed to the Scientific Council, — had invited him 
to remain in the Observatory " for the present." He declined at once ; 
saying that he should under no circumstances be willing to remain at the 
Observatory, and that a position had been already promised him upon 
the Mexican Boundary Survey, at a salary of $800. On returning home 
the next night, I found unexpectedly a letter asking the nomination of 
some person competent to serve as an assistant in the Northwestern 
Boundary Survey (not " in the Northwestern Boundary Coast Survey," 
as the Accusers ingeniously make it on page 66) ; and on the next 
(Christmas) morning, at once wrote to offer it to Dr. Peters. Such was 
the " persecution of Dr. Peters" of which the Accusers speak on page 
52!- The letter, with some slight alterations, such as changing " Dear 
Doctor" into "Dear Sir," is given on page 54 of the "Statement." It 
offers a position, worth from $1200 to $1800 a year, in Washington 
Territory, to a man who had, two days previously, represented himself as 
anxious to obtain a precisely analogous one at $800 in New Mexico. But 
there was another feature of my proceeding which the Accusers very 
naturally do not mention. This letter to Dr. Peters was inclosed in one 
to Mr. Olcott, referring to it thus : — 

" I also inclose a letter addressed to Dr. Peters. Since leaving you yesterday, 
it has struck me that it might not improbably afford you gratification to be able 
to confer some comparatively lucrative place upon Dr. P.; — as also that in his 
present state of feeling it might be more acceptable to him, if supposed to come 
from some other than myself. In case I am right in this, may I beg you to 
suppress my letter to him and make use of the facts which it contains to offer 
him your services, while informing him of the opportunity. My agency in the 
matter will then remain unknown to him, and I am quite sure that my inter- 
cession would secure him the place." 

What a return for such an act is the declaration that this was done to 
"have Dr. Peters out of the way!" — It must be remembered that his 

18 



266 

connection with the Coast Survey was closed, that he was temporarily 
residing in the Observatory as I supposed, upon my tolerance and 
expressed assent; that his surreptitious appointment as " an Observer" 
was more than a fortnight afterward ; and that no suspicion existed that 
the compact, which had already been closed and acted on, could be delib- 
erately violated. 

But there is still more to be noticed. The Accusers in introducing my 
letter to Dr. Peters say: 

" Only two days later, he addressed to that gentleman, who had been so 
recently denounced as treacherous, incompetent, and utterly untrustworthy, 
the following note:" 

My language regarding Peters had been as follows, — and is quoted by 
the Accusers both on page 53 and page 66 : 

" His [Dr. Peters's] course towards the Coast Survey having been such as to 
impair my confidence in his trustworthiness; and his subsequent action ill- 
calculated to restore it." 

" Denounced as treacherous, incompetent, and utterly untrustworthy," 
say the Accusers ! 

The motive of this rather strong rendering is to make my offer to 
Dr. Peters — of just such a place, as he had been anxious to obtain, 
with duties precisely adapted to his attainments and his character, — 
and under military command, appear inconsistent with my opinion of the 
man as expressed to the Scientific Council. — Such are the arguments, 
such is the candor, such is the temper of my Accusers. 

74. Prospects in December. 

The authors of the " Statement" continue : 

" In the meantime the prospects of the Observatory grew darker every 
day." This " meantime" refers to the period between Dec. 25 and Jan. 
1 ; the period immediately following the proposition of Mr. Olcott which 
he professed to think was " broad and full and embraced our mutual 
obligations," which had just been definitely accepted, in " broad and full" 
terms, and in a manner legally binding ! And upon which I had prom- 
ised and was preparing to transfer my residence to Albany just so soon 
as the premises should be ready ! 

The Accusers proceed to depict anew the melancholy aspect of affairs, 
and close with the following incredible falsehood, page 55 : 

" The two propositions of Mr. Olcott, made to Professor Bache, either that Dr. 
Gould should himself come to Albany, and take immediate charge of the Obser- 
vatory, or that his advisory character should still continue, and that Dr. Peters 
should be a resident Observer, his salary to be paid by the Trustees, were 
unanswered." 

Lest the reader may think his memory or his eyes deceive him, I will 
repeat that the conversation with Mr. Olcott, in which the so-called 
'* propositions" originated, was on Dec. 18 ; that I left the same evening 
for Washington, — Mr. Olcott's letter of propositions to Prof Bache 
being written the ensuing day, Dec. 19 ; that on the 22d I returned to 



267 

Albany and gave an unlimited acceptance (Prof. Bache's letter accepting 
in behalf of the Council, being sent at the same time); ond that my 
assistant under the new arrangement arrived from Cambridge at Albany 
on the same day. Yet now, speaking of a period a week later, these 
Accusers deliberately make the assertion that Mr. Olcott's propositions 
" were unanswered !" 

75. The Memorial. 

The Accusers assert that on the first day of January, "the Trustees" 
received the document printed on page 55 of their " Statement." • 

Whether this is really the document which they received, signed by 
the gentlemen whose names are now affixed to it, it is impossible to say, 
for the original is in the Accusers' own keeping. Our information on 
the subject is confined to their declaration and to the " argument from 
analogy." But that they received it on the first of January is certainly 
untrue. The signatures which were given, were obtained by the personal 
solicitation of Dr. Armsby and others, at the instigation of Mr. Olcott. 
For farther information regarding it I would refer to page 64 of this 
Reply, and to the letter addressed by Mr. John V. L. Pruyn, one of the 
signers, to the Albany Atlas and Argus, of 1858, Oct. 6, and reprinted 
in Mr. Thaeher's "Key to the Trustees' Statement." 

With characteristic effrontery the Accusers now claim that, in appoint- 
ing Dr. Peters an observer, they were moved to action by the request of 
the citizens who signed the letter. And they say, (alluding of course to 
some of the signers of the address to the citizens of Albany, from the 
committee appointed for this purpose by the public meeting of July 13) : 

" What, then, can be thought of the " consistency " of those who are now 
found condemning the very action which, six months before, they themselves 
had declared to be vitally essential to the very existence of the Institution?" 

The signers of the address may well reply : — What must we think of 
the "honesty" of men who prepare in their own closet artfully worded 
" documents" addressed to themselves, obtain by false representations 
our signatures to these documents, and then claim to act in compliance 
with our wishes, when in reality they are only carrying out their own 
designs, — designs of which we have been made the dupes and the uncon- 
scious instruments ? 

It will be remembered, as I have stated elsewhere in this Reply, that 
some of the signers of this document soon discovered the false representa- 
tions under which their signatures had been obtained, and at once took 
measures to withdraw their approval. Yet their names are now paraded 
by the Accusers on page 56 as indorsing the document, and some of them 
are again selected individually on page 58 of the " Statement" to be 
named as the men whose advice the Trustees followed \* Such dis- 
honesty demands the most unsparing and unrestricted condemnation. 
Yet it hardly suffices for a type of the falsehood and shamelessness of 
this work of my Accusers. 

* Among these, were also Messrs. Cooper and Townsend, whose names I here 
mention in addition to those already cited, because they are individually named 
by the Accusers, 



268 

76. Appointme7it of Peters in January. 

On page 57 of the " Statement" is an account of the appointment of 
Dr. Peters "as an observer." This matter has been so fully discussed 
in Part First, that it is unnecessary to enter again into the history of the 
matter here. — The presiding officers and other Trustees who were present 
have assured the Council that the resolutions were neither passed nor 
put to vote, but suppressed in consequence of the vigorous opposition 
which they encountered from gentlemen like Messrs. Van Rensselaer, 
Prentice and Wickes. — Yet the Secretary notified the Council, and the 
Accusers boldly assert, not only that they were passed, but that they 
were passed unanimously ! 

Of the reply said to have been returned by Dr. Peters, dated on the 
same day, and given on pages 57 and 58 of the " Statement," I will only 
say that Messrs. Olcott, Armsby and Pruyn, informed Prof. Bache and 
myself, Jan. 18, that no acceptance from Dr. Peters had been presented 
to the Trustees. 

The Accusers close their account of this election of "an Observer" 
with the following spiteful remark : — 

" Official copies of the resolutions of the Trustees having been forwarded to 
the members of the Scientific Council, they very promptly made their appear- 
ance in Albany." 

Of this I will only say that Professors Henry and Peirce received their 
copies in Albany, January 14, after their arrival, and Professor Bache 
and myself not till after our return home from Albany, which we left on 
the 18th and 21st respectively. Such things are almost too small to 
notice ; — but my purpose is to be thorough. The several members of the 
Council came to Albany upon unofficial information of the course of the 
Trustees. 

77. Severance of relations with Council. 

The Accusers say, on page 58, that " a crisis in the affairs of the 
Observatory had now been reached ;" that " the Trustees in following the 
advice of" certain gentlemen, (naming some of those whose names had, 
as already described, been obtained under false pretences) 

" Had appointed their own Observer, and he had signified his acceptance. 
This step, unless recalled, would, as urged by the Scientific Council, and admit- 
ted by all, operate effectually to sever the relation between the Trustees and the 
Council. The Trustees now occupied a perfectly independent position; a posi- 
tion they had assumed upon mature deliberation, and which they felt able to 
maintain." 

In short they distinctly assert that they intended at that time " to 
sever the relation between the Trustees and the Council." The position, 
thus deliberately taken, presents "the Trustees" as resolved to annul a 
compact, by the act of one of the contracting parties alone, and Mr. 
Olcott's anxiety to escape the odium of an act so base and so indefensi- 
ble, may, perhaps, be sufficiently shown by a few words from his letter 
of 1858, Jan. 23, to Prof. Henry : 

" I am sorry that we can be supposed capable of disappointing the expecta- 
" tions which we authorized you to indulge, and which our honor is concerned 
' ' in maintaining. 



269 

M 1 assure you that I know of no single occurrence which I can construe into 
" a want of good faith on our part. When such a charge can be made against 
" me, I shall expect to forfeit the honor of subscribing myself, as I now do, 

" Your sincere friend, 

"THOMAS W. OLCOTT." 

The public will judge of the extent to which Mr. Olcott has forfeited 
this particular honor, as also all claim to honor of any kind, by his course 
in this matter. 

78. Assembling of Council in January. 

" Upon their arrival in the city, the members of the Scientific Council besieged 
the Trustees, and persistently and earnestly entreated them to reconsider their 
action of the ninth of January. They bitterly, and, as the Trustees believed 
very unjustly assailed Dr. Peters, both in his private character, as a man of 
honor, and in his public standing, as a man of science. Their personal influ- 
ence with the Trustees, and their reputation as scientific men, were brouo-ht to 
bear against the newly appointed Observer. It was represented to them by the 
Trustees, that Dr. Gould had greatly exceeded his authority and misunderstood 
his relations towards the Trustees, in refusing to recognize Dr. Peters as their 
employee, and demanding from him possession of the Observatory, which they 
had placed in his keeping. The Council asked for a hearing for Dr. Gould 
which was at once granted." 

Thus say the Accusers on pages 58 and 59. Few more thorough tis- 
sues of misstatements and scandalously false assertions occur in the 
entire book. To correct these untruths it would be necessary to reprint 
the passage inserting a negative in every clause. 

The Accusers assert too, that by refusing to recognize Peters as their 
employee I had given reason for complaint. Yet I had, until January 
7, never suspected such a relation to exist; upon its avowal I had left 
the city at once without communicating with any of the persons concerned 
the " document" or memorial already alluded to had been circulated 
wholly unknown to me on the 8th ; the meeting of the Board and alleged 
election of Peters had been on the 9th; — the Council had unofficially 
learned this action on the 11th ; and on the 13th Professors Henry and 
Peirce were already in Albany, where I arrived again on the 14th. So 
that I had no opportunity, at the time mentioned, to refuse to recog- 
nize Dr. Peters as the employee of the Trustees, — even had I been so 
inclined. Whether such a refusal would have been proper, under the cir- 
cumstances, is therefore a question which requires no discussion. 

Professor Peirce, immediately after his arrival in the city, on the 14th 
of January, addressed the following letter to the President of the Board: 

<c Dear Sir — The Scientific Council of the Dudley Observatory have received 
from the Secretary of the Board of Trustees a copy of certain resolutions pur- 
porting to have been adopted at their recent meeting. They have, on the con- 
trary, been informed by yourself as the President of the Board, that the said 
resolutions were not adopted, but that quite a different communication, which is 
irreconcilable with the adoption of the resolutions, was agreed to be made to 
the Council. No such communication has of course been received by the Coun- 
cil. On the part of the Scientific Council, therefore, and in their name I 
request you to call a meeting of the Board of Trustees, in order that during 
the present meeting of the Council in Albany, any question may be discussed 
and decided in which they may be interested. 

" "With sincere respect, &c." 



270 

and upon this application a meeting was called by G-en. Van Rensselaer 
for Saturday, Jan. 16. 
Of this the Accusers say : 

" The Council asked for a hearing for Dr. Gould, which was at once granted !" 

I returned to Albany on the 14th in compliance with a letter from a 
friend not of the Council, and Prof. Bache was summoned from Wash- 
ington by a telegraph, informing him that the meeting had been called* 
He arrived on the 16th, during the meeting, after a journey of twenty-one 
consecutive hours, and came without rest or refreshment directly from the 
railroad station to the office where the Council and Trustees were in 
conference. 

79. Complaints of Inactivity. Assertions on pages 59 and 60. 

Revolting as is the task of unveiling and exposing such a record of 
human debasement as this unprincipled and ruthless collection of mis- 
statements, — there are few passages so thoroughly sickening as these two 
pages. — How men with souls, and moral responsibilities, could have ven- 
tured upon such reckless disregard even of the semblance of truth ; — how 
men occupying stations of responsibility and coveting others ; — how men 
who are to look their fellow citizens daily in the face, could plunge into 
such an abyss of falsehood, where they should have known that their 
detection was sure — almost surpasses comprehension. 

They thought that I had no documentary evidence to prove their for- 
geries upon them ; and they supposed that I should be so thoroughly and 
completely " crushed" by the tremendous weight of their specious and 
unnumbered falsehoods that the power of speech would be gone from me ; 
and that too, even though men should be willing to grant me a hearing. But, 
thank God, He has given me strength to speak, and defenders and cham- 
pions have arisen where they were least expected ; and when I leave this 
world it shall be with an unstained record, and with a vindicated honor. 

No such " explanations" were given to the Council as the Accusers 
now assert. 

No declaration was made that such "inactivity" "could no longer be 
tolerated." 

No Trustee dared to tell the men who had lifted the Observatory from 
the dust that they were merely wishing " to hold positions of honor in the 
Observatory." 

The question of " putting in operation" was not mooted; — for it had 
been decided already by the compact three weeks before. 

No man hinted to the Scientific Council that "the relations between 
them and the Trustees must terminate," but the Council did declare 
that unless the scandalous violation of faith should be retracted, their 
withdrawal would follow at once. 

The Council offered no pleas " in extenuation" of my " inaction," nor 
did they apologize in any manner for my course, for they approved and 
indorsed it. 

They did not urge the Trustees to appoint me " Director," for I was 



271 

already " in entire charge of the Observatory, subject only to the Scien- 
tific Council." 

They gave no pledges in my behalf, for "energy and perseverance." 

They neither heard of, nor ackn6wledged any inertness and neglect in 
the past. 

They never spoke of themselves as the " scientific advisers of the 
Trustees." 

They simply demanded the fulfilment of Mr. Olcott's violated pledges, 
and the opportunity to meet the full Board. 

The Accusers close page 60 with the extraordinary declaration that so 
lately as January 16, 1858, they were : 

" Even willing to hope that, after all their experience to the contrary, Dr. 
Gould might prove a man of practical ability, if he should remove to xVlbany; 
and his efforts thereafter be faithfully directed towards the interests of the 
Observatory." 

And this after all the pretended deception, mismanagement and untruth 
of which they now allege that they then knew me to have been guilty. — 
What a confession ! This pretended hope is offered as a dishonest cover 
to conceal the utter baselessness of their charges against me. 

80. Meeting of January 16. 

An untruthful account of this meeting is given throughout; — the account 
extending over more than seven pages (61-68) of the " Statement." 
This includes somewhat more than three pages of the alleged speech of 
Mr. Wilder, which will be considered by itself in § 82. The accounts of 
the meeting given in different parts are by no means perfectly consistent; 
as has been shown already to some extent (p. 67.) Upon page 61 the 
Accusers say, that the members of the Council — 

" severally addressed the Board; Professor Henry in a strain of highly impas- 
sioned eloquence; Professor Peirce more coolly and dispassionately, admitting 
that the power was all in the hands of the Trustees, that the Council was sim- 
ply advisorjr, and its continuance, at the pleasure of the Trustees." 

On page 67 we read of the same address : 

" Prof. Peirce, in an earnest and impassioned appeal to the Board, stated his 
opposition to Dr. Peters to be based purely on scientific grounds; and, among 
other things, dwelt at length on Dr. Peters 's inability to understand or use the 
Helio meter." 

But on page 59, it is said of Professors Peirce and Henry, (the only 
members of the Council who were in the city at the period referred to) : 

"They bitterly, and, as the Trustees believed, very unjustly assailed Dr. 
Peters, both in his private character, as a man of honor, and in his public 
standing, as a man of science," 

In the account of my own address, given by the Accusers (pages 61, 62) 
no allusion to Peters will be found, although the authors profess to follow 
the course of my remarks very carefully. 

Yet on page 65, Mr. Wilder is represented as saying: 
" You all remember the intemperate outburst of Dr. Gould when alluding to 
Dr. Peters, asserting his incompetence, and dealing largely in personal vitupera- 



272 

tion, all savoring more of the petulance of an irascible and pedantic schoolmas- 
ter, than the calm dignity which should distinguish the savan and scientist. So 
marked and noticeable was the eruption, that some of his more politic colleagues, 
by expostulatory waving of their hands and soothing entreaties, calmed him 
into something like a respectable equanimity." 

It is unnecessary to speak of the remarks of my colleagues in the 
Council, farther than to say that they are untruthfully described. As 
for my own, I endeavored honestly, truthfully, courteously and manfully 
to tell the history of the manner in which the continual interference of 
Dr. Armsby had destroyed or marred my plans, defeated my hopes, and 
thwarted my endeavors. I disclaimed the imputation of any wrong 
motive to him (not even mentioning his name if I remember correctly;) 
but yet complained that my directions or advice had not been followed, 
but had been habitually neglected or disregarded for the sake of mere show. 
It was my endeavor to speak of Dr. Armsby kindly, though it was neces- 
sary to speak unmistakably. He sat close by me and could have contra- 
dicted any statement which he desired to call in question. But he said 
nothing, for he knew that I spoke the truth. Finally I alluded to the 
newspaper attacks and the private calumnies then so rife, and asked the 
opportunity to disprove any which might have come to the hearing of any 
member of the Board. Although I knew that the busy and cunning 
brain of this weak, yet mischievous, man had devised and started these 
very calumnies, I made no allusion to this fact. Nor did I, directly or 
indirectly, allude to Peters. 

As for the long story of the Accusers on page 62 about the west wing, 
I may repeat that my illustration was a correct one, and that it is untrue 
that this wing was taken down either by my directions or to allow the 
working of the crane. 

I did not close by giving any pledges, but by expressing my sense of 
the contumely and ingratitude with which I had been treated. I did not 
" beg the members of the Board to give me their votes," for I was not 
a candidate for anything. I had been serving the Observatory on my 
own proper account, and at my own charge, and expected to continue 
so to serve it under the new arrangement and compact. 

Mr. Olcott did not attempt to vindicate Dr. Armsby ; but defended 
himself from the charge of wastefulness, although it was obvious to 
every other person in the room that none of my complaints referred to 
him ; and I then again expressly disclaimed any reference to him. His 
apparent sensitiveness surprised me at the time. 

81. The TJnexaggerafed and Truthful History. 

From page 64 of the "Statement": 

" The Board met again on the 19th of January to decide upon their course. 
It is the earnest desire of the Trustees to place this whole history before the 
public in an unexaggerated and truthful manner.'' 

Whatever comment the reader may be disposed to make y I will only 
make this one, viz : that when the Accusers continuing, say 

" They feel, therefore, that they cannot do better than to introduce here 
the remarks at this meeting, of their late associate, the deeply lamented Johra 
N. Wilder," 



273 

they make themselves responsible for all the contents of this so-called 
speech of Mr. Wilder. 

82. Mr. Wilder's alleged Speech. 

The remarks given by the Accusers in smaller type on pages 64-68, 
in the form of a speech from Mr. Wilder, are prefaced by the following 
sentence (in which I will italicise a few words) : 

" It having been determined that the Trustees would accept the proposition 
of the Scientific Council, and place the Observatory in charge of Dr. Gould, Mr. 
Wilder addressed the Board in the following language." 

They present a tangled mass of bad rhetoric, bad temper, bad faith, bad 
garbling and bad falsification ; and I will not expend the labor and the 
space required for going over them in detail. The letter of introduction 
to Dr. Armsby which I gave to Dr. Peters, 1856, July 22, is quoted on 
page 65, but as I have no copy, I cannot tell whether it is correctly 
given. Every other extract from my letters is altered, excepting the 
single sentence at the foot of page 66. 

One specimen of their falsifications will suffice. It is introduced to 
show that I indorsed Dr. Peters as an "experienced astronomer." 

From the " Statement of the Trustees," What I wrote to Dr Jlrmsby, 1856, 

page 66. June 21. 

u Doctor Peters is a man who has He is a man who has seen and expe- 

seen and experienced much, and I think rienced much, and I think you w r ill like 

you will like him. Born in Denmark, him. Born in Denmark, or rather 

or rather Schlesswig, a Duchy adjoin- Schleswig, a Duchy adjoining Den- 

ing Denmark, of which the King of mark, of which the King of D. is the 

Denmark is the Duke: educated in Duke, educated in Prussia, he w r as 

Prussia, he was for a long time em- a long time employed in the geodeti- 

ployed in the Geodetical survey of the cal Survey of the Neapolitan Kingdom ; 

Neapolitan Kingdom; then in Sicily then in Sicily while she was in revolu- 

during the war of the Revolution ; tion, after which he resided some years 

after which he resided some years in in Constantinople before coming to 

Constantinople before coming to Amer- America some twenty months ago. So 

ica. So he has had plenty of expe- he has plenty of experiences to relate, 

rience." and little odds and ends of wisdom 

picked up in various corners of the 

earth. 

The paragraph immediately following this '* improved extract" asserts 
that in a review written by me in 1849, I spoke of this same Dr. Peters 
11 in the warmest terms of praise." Since the review alluded to was not 
published with my name, the Accusers had no right to cite it ; but so 
far as I am concerned, it is quite immtaerial, inasmuch as the assertion is 
totally untrue. In the passage mentioned I spoke of a pamphlet of 
Dr. Peters, but not of the man at all, — neither in terms of praise or 
otherwise. Upon this alleged speech, with its deliberate misstatements, 
its bitter invective, its irreverent language, I have no desire to dwell. 
Although the Accusers have adopted it, yet they have attributed its 
authorship to one who is now beyond the reach of human judgement ; 
and however warrantable or even desirable a full exposure might be, I 
will refrain. He can do me no harm, and my action is defensive only. 



274 

There is much that is commendable in the old adage which calls for 
*' nothing but good concerning the dead." 

Since Mr. Wiider's death, more than one of the signers of the "State- 
ment," while publicly denying the fact of mutilations and forgeries in 
their alleged extracts, have not scrupled privately to defend themselves 
by attributing these "accidents" to Mr. Wilder. 

As for myself, I do not charge him with this crime. Fom the nature 
of the case, he could not have done the whole. — No, the responsible author 
occupies a far higher station than Mr. Wilder ever aspired to. 

83. Resolutions of January 19. 

It has been already mentioned that the resolutions as printed by the 
Accusers on pages 68 and 151, are not like the four copies signed by 
Dr. Armsby as secretary, and sent by him to the members of the Scien- 
tific Council. In them, about one-half, viz : the preamble reciting the 
alleged resolution of January 9, did not occur, 

This very resolution differs slightly in the several versions of it, for 
while on page 68. the members of the Council are spoken of as gentle- 
men " whose names are so illustrious in science, and who are so dis- 
interested in their efforts for its advancement," — this word " disin- 
terested " becomes "distinguished," on pages 57 and 151 of the " State- 
ment." The reading " disinterested " is in the certified copies. 

But theti is a n.crc a. roit alteration, in these resolutions, and one 
very characteristic of the disreputable practitioner. Not only is this 
preamble reciting the resolution of January 9, inserted ; not only is the 
language changed ; but as already stated on page 68, the article "a" is 
changed into the adjective "such" so as to refer to the words " The 
Scientific Council of this Board" in the preamble. The words " of this 
Board" in the one place, and this newly fabricated word " such" in the 
other are then put in capitals to attract attention together, and the skil- 
ful process is accomplished. The reader will find this neat performance 
both on pages 68 and 151. So in changing " a" into " such" on pages 
68 and 151, the artist forgot that the true resolution was cited in the 
preamble to the resolution given on page 123. By referring to that 
page of the " Statement" the reader will find the resolution as recorded 
by the Secretary and transmitted to the Council at the time. 

Since these resolutions are very important ones, I must add a few 
words concerning their import. 

At the time of our original election, we^ were invested with the scien- 
tific control of the Observatory, and this resolution professed " to 
ratify and confirm" that action. 

Moreover, the closing resolution, which we have before quoted, ratified 
the proposition made by Mr. Olcott, and thereby placed the Observatory 
in charge of one of the number, myself, who was, " under the Scientific 
Council" (not the Trustees), "to be responsible for the scientific char- 
acter of the Institution" placed under my "entire charge." 

The resolution is as follows : 

" That the Board of Trustees ratify the proposition of Mr. Olcott, on behalf 
of the Trustees, which has been accepted by Prof. A. D. Bache, of the United 



275 

States Coast Survey, — That the Observatory, under the supervision of the 

Scientific Council, shall be immediately placed in operation, and in charge of Dr. 
B. A. Gould, Jun., and his assistants, in the employ and in the pay of the 
United States Coast Survey." 

The Observatory is here said to be under the supervision of the Coun- 
cil ; while, in Mr. Olcott's letter, "Dr. Gould" is "to take the entire 
charge of the Observatory," "under the Scientific Council." The loose 
way in which the whole of the resolutions are drawn did not invite a 
criticism of them with a view to the minute understanding of their mean- 
ing. 

In each of these respects, as in the other point sufficiently discussed on 
pages 68, 69, the Council saw that there was an opportunity to attempt some 
violation of the agreement, but as the original understanding, (the propo- 
sition of Mr. Olcott) had been very explicit and Prof. Bache had form- 
ally disclaimed that his acceptance had been in any official relation as 
Superintendent of the Coast Survey, we regarded all these as mere verbal 
mistakes and not as an intentional perversion of the relation of things, 
intended to involve any one of us in difficulty in return for our services. 
To have suspected a covert attack, or the preparation for an assault, in 
return for our services, — acknowledged at the same meeting, — would 
have been to attribute treachery and meanness to the Trustees as a 
Board, whose relations to us at that time did not warrant a suspicion of 
the sort. 

84. JLuthorship of Attacks through the Press. 

Upon pages 68 aud 69, the Accusers say : 

"Immediately on Dr. Gould's return to Cambridge, he addressed a letter to 
Mr. Olcott, in which he charged directly upon one of the Trustees, and that too 
in an offensive manner, the authorship of certain paragraphs that had appeared 
in the public prints reflecting upon the notorious inactivity which had prevailed 
at the Observatory. Knowing that there was not the slightest foundation for 
the charge, an answer was returned to Dr. Gould, assuring him that his suspi- 
cions were entirely groundless. 

"Instead of retracting or apologizing, Dr. Gould reiterated the charge." 

Before exhibiting the mutilation of my letter as given by the Accusers, 

I will give the actual words of my previous ' letter to Mr. Olcott, in 
regard to the constant abuse of me through the press, incited by Dr. 
Armsby. — immediately after his pretended reconciliation and the pathetic 
expressions of regret for his past course coupled with protestations of sin- 
cerity. It must also be remembered, that these offensive pieces were not 
" paragraphs reflecting upon the notorious inactivity which had prevailed 
at the Observatory," as the Accusers now allege ; but consisted of bitter 
personal attacks upon myself and Prof. Bache, — invective against the 
Smithsonian Institution, the Coast Survey, &c, — together with numer- 
ous tirades and exhibitions of indignation at the "persecution" of the 
"progressive" and "unpretending Peters," — and at the assumption of 

II foreigners," as the members of the Council were termed, who were 
endeavoring to dictate to Albanians, — and Dr. Peters was constantly 
represented as " an Albanian," whom these foreigners sought to " crush." 

It must farthermore be stated that after the meeting of Jan. 19, I 
hesitated about leaving the city, lest, as before, new calumnies should 



276 

be originated and circulated ; or new attacks be published which would 
demand immediate refutation or defence ; but on suggesting this suspi- 
cion to. Mr. Olcott, whom I supposed sincere at least in this arrangement, 
he assured me that my fears were without foundation and that he was 
sure I might leave without apprehension of any renewal of the assaults. 
It was for this reason that, finding my apprehensions realized, I wrote 
him ten days later, Jan. 30, as follows : 

" You have possibly seen some of the attacks continually made on the Observa- 
tory and the Coast Survey, in the Albany papers, though I presume you have 
not been likely to see such ^s are in that class of newspapers which contain the 
most offensive ones. 

" On successive days this week the -, , , and , have pub- 
lished such attacks, generally printed first in New York as "Albany Corres- 
pondence " and then copied. In themselves such things are petty in the extreme, 
but as symptoms they should be met. Forgive me for assuring you that an 
appeal from you to Dr. Armsby will stop them. My opinion of the origin of 
some of them at least is based on knowledge ; and the Dr. ought to see that no 
end which he desires can be forwarded by such a course. You and I, my dear 
Sir, would not give a second thought to them, did they concern only ourselves; 
but as it is the Observatory, and not ourselves, for which we are both striving, 
we may be sensitive and thin-slfinned there, when we should not even be 
annoyed personally 

" The inclosed is from the Statesman of Thursday evening. 

"Whenever the estimates are approved, lean begin on the preliminaries of 
furnishing rooms and office, without a day's delay." 

Mr. Olcott's reply was as follows, — dated 1858, Feb. 1 : 

" I have seen some of the articles in the newspapers to which you refer, but 
have no idea from whence they originated. I certainly never suspected the 
individual you mention. General Pruyn told me some days ago that he would 
see the correspondent of one of the New York papers, in which aft article had 
appeared, and give him a correct understanding of the matter. I shall have no 
hesitation in saying to Dr. Armsby that we are bound to carry out in good 
faith, our friendly arrangements with our Scientific Council, and to strengthen 
their hands as far as within us lies, in furtherance of the aims and interests 
of the Observatory. And I cannot believe that any Trustee would do an indis- 
creet and unhandsome thing in the way of secret assaults through the newspa- 
pers. I shall not venture to bring such a charge against my friend Dr. A., nor 
even to insinuate your suspicions unless upon reflection you authorize me to do 
so. I think you should have some substantial proof to justify even such a 
suspicion." 

To this, upon which subsequent events furnished so remarkable a com- 
mentary, I replied in the letter cited by the Accusers : — 

From the "Statement of the Trustees," What I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 

page 69. 1858, Feb. 3. 

Might not the reprinting, in the Atlas 
or Journal, of some of the facts con- 
tained in the circular pamphlet of a year 
ago, or even in your preliminary re- 
marks, be sufficient to stop such pieces 
as those of the Statesman of Monday 
or Express of yesterday? I am deeply 
sorry that you should think my suspi- 
Instead of retracting or apologizing, cions unfair or ungenerous, — but you 
Dr. Gould reiterated the charges, and will remember through what a terrible 
wrote as follows: ordeal I have just passed, and that it 



277 



" The results of cautious inquiry as 
to the promptings of these publications 
would, I think, surprise you ; and 
though my sources of information are, 
like those of others, fallible, I fear that 
you would find my opinion justified, 
that the correspondent of the New 
York Courier and Enquirer was insti- 
gated by the same person who incited 
the Editor of the Statesman ; that this 
last named Editor is himself the author 
of the article in the New York Express, 
whence he copied it; that the offensive 
piece in the Atlas and Argus was pub- 
lished by request from the same quar- 
ter. But this is meddling with pitch." 



has not been without its sad experi- 
ences and instructions. The intimation 
was not given in order to bring any 
charge or to lind fault; nor have I any 
desire that suspicions should be inti- 
mated or accusations brought. It was 
because I could see no other means of 
attaining what we both desire. 

The results of cautious inquiry as to 
the prompting of these publications 
would, I think, surprise you; and 
though my sources of information are 
like those of others, fallible, I fear that 
you would find my opinion justified that 
one mind has indirectly prompted all 
these attacks. That the correspondent 
of the N. Y. Courier was instigated by 
the same person who incited the Editor 
of the "Statesman;" that this last 
named Editor is himself the author of 
the article in the N. Y. Express, whence 
he copies it; that the offensive piece in 
the Atlas and Argus was published by 
request from the same quarter, &c, 
&c. But this is meddling with pitch, 
my dear Sir, and not work for us. 
Like other low things, it ought to be 
stopped, and then the less said or 
thought of it, the better. 

85. Removal to Albany. 

My removal to Albany in conformity with the Compact, to take charge 
of the Observatory under countless discomforts, obstacles, difficulties and 
privations, is very speedily summed up by the Accusers. They say : 

"About the middle of February, Dr. Gould came to Albany, having previously 
applied to the Board for an appropriation to build a new dome." 

86. Application for a new Dome. 

It has been already mentioned that, not only on various occasions dur- 
ing the months of November and December, but actually after the com- 
pact of December had been made and acted on, new applications were 
made by Mr. Olcott for the appointment of Dr. Peters. In these inter- 
views he was usually accompanied by Mr. R. H. Pruyn, an iron manufac- 
turer of this place, and one of the Nine signers of the "Statement." When, 
on the 19th of January, I called on Mr. Olcott at his request after the 
adjournment of the Board, I found this Mr. Pruyn with him. Mr. 
Pruyn took me aside and made, even then, yet a new appeal in Mr. 
Olcott's name for this same, so often demanded and so often declined, 
appointment. This was the eighth or ninth application, — and was three 
weeks subsequent to the answer of the Council on this very point, given 
by the Accusers on their 54th page, and discussed by me in § 72. — My 
answer was courteous but decided, upon which Mr. Pruyn informed me 
as a matter of confidence, — that his workmen, in attempting, a few days 
previous, to put up the iron shutters for the dome, had found it so weak 



2?8 

that the opening had widened by several inches as soon as the tinning was 
removed which had covered the aperture since the building was first 
erected ; — and that it was evident the dome was incapable of supporting 
the weight of the shutters. That Mr. Olcott knew this, but no one else, 
and it was on every account desirable it should be kept secret. That 
an iron dome could be easily constructed and with comparative cheap- 
ness ; and if I would assent to the proposition for appointing Peters, the 
Trustees would be made to assent to the building of an iron dome, and 
everything be smoothly and pleasantly arranged ! 

I made no reply to this very transparent proposition, other than to 
express my regret for the untoward discovery, and for the inadequate 
construction of the building. — We then rejoined Mr. Olcott, who again 
urged Peters's appointment, " as a concession and act of generosity," 
and I agreed finally to take it into consideration until the next day. 

The next day I told Mr. Olcott that I had again considered the question 
of Dr. Peters and much regretted my inability to do what I knew he 
desired, but he really must excuse me. 

Mr. Olcott then brought up the dome matter in a manner which I 
thought intended as a threat, but of which I took no notice. The idea 
of being held responsible for its bad construction in 1852, although my 
first connection with the Observatory was in 1855, did not disturb me 
much. 

I replied that I would ask Mr. Hodgins to institute a careful examina- 
tion of the dome, and to report the results ; and would then communicate 
my views on the subject to the Board of Trustees. (It was at this same 
interview that Mr. Olcott requested me to communicate with the Board 
regarding the distribution of the promised $2000 from the State.) 

Immediately afterwards I requested Mr. Hodgins to make the exami- 
nation, and upon the reception of his report I transmitted it to Mr. 
Olcott for the Trustees, accompanied by two letters, both of which have 
since been published [" Correspondence" pp. 8, 10]. One of these 
letters was addressed to the Trustees, under date of Jan. 27, and informed 
them of the exact state of things. It said : 

" I entirely concur with Mr. Hodgins as to the importance of a dome more 
thoroughly and strongly built; and have indeed long been convinced that the 
extreme weight of the present dome would always offer a serious obstacle to the 
convenient use of whatever instrument it might contain. The defects of strength 
and stiffness now apparent are of a still graver character. There can, I think, 
be no doubt that a dome of equal size and convenience, with all needed strength, 
might be constructed, having scarcely more than one-half the present weight, 
and I will not conceal that in my judgement such a one will be needed before 
any large instrument can be used with the success which we are entitled to 
anticipate and demand. 

"Meantime, there is no doubt that a brace at the eaves would remove all 
apprehension of actual danger. 

"Recommendations as to the details of construction are of course uncalled 
for, until you shall have decided whether another dome ought to be provided at 
the present time. Under ordinary circumstances, I would advocate this with- 
out hesitation. The only opposing argument is the cost, which, as you will 
perceive from Mr. Hodgins's report, would probably, all incidentals included, bo 
more than $1500 and less than $2000." 



279 

The second letter was a private and friendly one addressed to Mr. 01- 
cott. It is the one so shamelessly mutilated on page 131 of the "State- 
ment," and will be considered by itself in §122. 

The Accusers say, page 69, 

" The original dome had cost $2000. A new one would have cost about 
$3000." 

On page 71 they speak of 

" The application of Dr. Gould for the appropriation of $2,000 for a new 
dome." 

And on page 137, recounting my misdeeds, they say : — 

"A new dome must be built, at a cost of $3000 or more, or else the shut- 
ters," &c, &c, " must be lost." 

After blaming me for this so-called " application for a dome" before 
the heliometer was finished, the Accusers continue (p. 69) : — 

" The suspicion would have been at least justifiable, under the circumstances, 
that the alteration was only desired, in order to occupy the minds of the Trus- 
tees, and thus divert their attention from the delay in mounting the instruments 
then on hand." 

Such duplicity and baseness need no comment. Had I consented to 
the appointment of Mr. Olcott's protege, Peters, or assented to Mr. 
Pruyn's suggestion of the new iron dome, how different would have been 
the demeanor of these two gentlemen ! 

87. The Meeting of the Trustees, March 2. 

My letter of estimates for the current year had been sent to Mr. Olcott 
for the Trustees, Jan. 21; the letter about the dome, Jan. 28. My 
arrival in Albany to take charge was Feb. 9. Peters being then still in 
the Observatory and the dwelling house not ready for habitation, my 
actual removal had been, by Mr. Olcott's advice, delayed till Feb. 20. — 
And yet these letters to the Trustees had not been transmitted by Mr. 
Olcott. It was not until March 2 that a meeting of the Board was called 
by Mr. Olcott, who had, by General Van Rensselaer's resignation, then 
become the presiding officer. Of this meeting no notice or previous inti- 
mation was given me. At it an " Executive Committee" of Nine was 
appointed, — Messrs. Prentice, Wickes, Davidson and Tibbits, who were 
suspected of not favoring Mr. Olcott's policy, being excluded ; — and Mr. 
Olcott was elected President of the Board. 

88. The State Appropriation for 'Longitude. 

This matter has been so fully explained in the first part of this Reply, 
that but little more need be said. Mr. Olcott had informed the Council 
that he could obtain the appropriation at any time by means of any obser- 
vations for geographical position, — since the appropriation was avowedly 
and openly made for the sake of aiding the Dudley Observatory. He even 
wrote that a determination of the latitude would suffice. The work being 
done by the Coast Survey, without other cost to the Observatory thau 



280 

the mere incidental outlays, an estimated balance of $1400 would remain. 
The mode of distribution of this sum was recommended by me in my let- 
ter of Jan. 21 [printed in the published Correspondence, pp. 5-7,] as 
follows : 



" For furnishing dwelling rooms in the house, 

an office, " " 150 

For mounting Meridian-circle, 300 

For mounting and bringing into use the Calculating Engine, 200 

For mounting small Coast Survey Transit, 50 

For stationery and incidentals, 100 

For fuel and lights, 200 

For books, 100 



It will be remarked that these estimates exceed the available means by 
"i; but having reduced them to the lowest possible figures, so far as I can 
now judge, I have left it to the future to show whether any farther contraction 
may prove feasible; the understanding being, of course, that the total is not to 
transcend the appropriation." 
« 
The reader will remark that under the agreement, the Observatory 
was in my charge, subject only to the Scientific Council, and the balance 
of the State appropriation had been promised for carrying it on. It was 
at Mr. Olcott's suggestion that I wrote to the Trustees asking their 
approval of the manner in which I proposed to apply the balance of 
the State appropriation. 

When the reply came, March 3, it consisted of a resolution appropria- 
ting $300 for " mounting the Meridian Circle," and $150 for mounting 
" the large Transit Instrument belonging to the Coast Survey " and 
the following paragraph in the official letter : 

" The Trustees could not authorize the other expenditures, for furnishing the 
house, etc., proposed in your letter of January 21st, until the appropriation of 
$2000 from the State shall have been secured." 

My estimates, which the Accusers call an " application for the appro- 
priation of $1500 for furniture, &c," and for' which they endeavor on 
page 70 to make me odious, as having desired to divert an appropriation 
for longitude to the purchase of "furniture, stationery, fuel, lights, &c," 
were evidently not considered so very unreasonable by the Trustees on 
the 2d of March, 1858. 

89. Mounti?ig the Instruments. 

This favorite phrase of the Accusers is almost solely used by them in 
connection with the expressed or implied repetition of the charge of 
delay, — a charge which has already been disposed of. They seem to 
consider this " mounting" as a thing which might be done at the word of 
command, as readily as a cannon or a portable spy glass could be 
" mounted." This whole process of " mounting" the meridian circle 
has been described on pages 125-128. The stone piers were to be labori- 
ously prepared ; careful, time-consuming measurements and tests made, — 
the clothing and casing constructed and put on, and the several parts of the 



281 

instrument carefully adjusted to their places by skillful workmanship with 
the aid of constant observations. To an astronomer familiar with the 
instrument, the ideas and declarations of the Accusers on this subject are 
more than ludicrous ; — but when their excessive ignorance is made the 
basis for such unsparing calumny, in the endeavor to destroy the reputa- 
tion of an innocent man, it is difficult to refrain from using appropriate 
language to characterize the act. 
On page 71 it is said that 

" More than a year and a half had passed since the period fixed upon by Dr. 
Gould himself, for mounting both the Circle and the Transit." 

On page 72 the Accusers speak of an " early indication of intended 
delay," and again of "a pretext for still further delay in mounting the 
instruments." On page 73 they wickedly assert that " the replies" to the 
11 applications " "for information as to the time when the Trustees might 
expect the instruments to be mounted and brought into use," " had been 
evasive — sometimes insolent, and never satisfactory." On p. 77 it is said, 

" Repeated applications had been made to him for information as to the prob- 
able period when the mounting of the instruments, according to the promises 
made nearly five months previously, would be undertaken." 

Was there ever before the publication of this " Statement" such an 
exhibition of falsehood and calumnious misrepresentation ? Each of these 
extracts contains one or more gross misstatements. I had made no 
promises previous to the compact of December, 1857, and then no such 
specific promises as are pretended ; and from my first arrival in Albany, 
in February, until the instrument was inspected by the Scientific Council, 
already "mounted" in June, no delay had occurred, but the operations 
had gone regularly and uninterruptedly forward, — and so they went on, 
from that time until the whole of the details of adjustment, the whole of 
the constructions or necessary alterations of the subsidiary parts, and the 
"mounting" and adjustments of all the subsidiary apparatus, had been 
fully completed (at my private expense). No interruption or needless 
delay occurred. 

On page 154, 155, the Accusers say of the meridian-circle : 

" The instrument itself was never seen by him [Dr. Gould] either in the 
hands of the makers or after its arrival in this country, except as it lay in its 
box, until after his dismissal, when he was aroused to a spasmodic effort to have 
it mounted." 

The character of this statement may be appreciated by the reader of 
pages 125-127 of this Reply. But that the appreciation may be com- 
plete, I will add that, before opening the boxes and unpacking and exam- 
ining the parts of the instrument on March 6, I wrote a note to the 
Secretary of the Board, inviting him and his co-trustees to be present ; 
and that I called in person on the previous day upon Messrs. Olcott, De 
Witt and John F. Rathbone, three of my accusers, for the same purpose. 
None of them honored me, or manifested interest in the Observatory, by 
their attendance. 

19 



282 

90. Pretended Volunteers. 

"Nor could they perceive the justice of the complaint that the pretended 
' volunteers ' at the Observatory, were compelled to ' fulfil their former duties ' 
to secure the 'means of subsistence.' The Superintendent of the Coast Survey 
had agreed to furnish from his corps of employees these very assistants. They 
could not, therefore, be regarded in the light of ' volunteers.' Their posi- 
tion in the Coast Survey was not altered, nor their ' means of subsistence ' 
diminished, or interfered with, by their removal to Albany." ("Statement," 
page 72.) 

The injustice, ingratitude and indecency of this passage is self-evident. 
The " Superintendent of the Coast Survey" had not " agreed to furnish 
from his corps of employees these very assistants," nor any assistants in 
any other manner than expressly as " volunteers." They were generous 
young men who assumed the Observatory labors in addition to such 
other duties as they had to perform, — duties the amount of which could 
not be diminished, but were in fact greatly increased by the longitude 
determination. Their previously inadequate remuneration was in no 
manner increased by these additional duties, — and these additional duties 
were not under the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, — but under 
myself, as Director of the Dudley Observatory. It is true that " their 
position in the Coast Survey was not altered, nor their ; means of sub- 
sistence' diminished, or interfered with, by their removal to Albany," 
but all the observatory work was added to what they would otherwise 
have had to do. But this ungrateful disavowal of generous services ren- 
dered, is what may be expected from men who could find in the demeanor 
of Messrs. Winslow, Toomer and Tilton an opportunity for the accusation 
of "incivility," "insolence," "untruthfulness," and "studied insults j" 
and from Accusers who could speak of these honorable and laborious 
young astronomers as " irresponsible subordinates whom Dr. Grould for 
his own purposes might see fit to harbor" at "the Observatory premises." 

9 1 . App rop riatio ns . 

The Scientific Council in § 11 of the "Defence" have so thoroughly 
disposed of the several items recapitulated on pages 72 and 73 of the 
"Statement" that it seems useless again to repeat the details. The 
whole may also be found in full in the published " Correspondence."- - 
No fairminded person who has read and remembers the " Correspond- 
ence" or the "Defence" can fail to perceive the efforts of the Accusers 
to give a forced and incorrect coloring to each of these matters. Answevs 
to queries are recorded as "asking for appropriations," — and announce- 
ments that I had myself discharged debts due by the Observatory, con- 
tracted at Mr. Olcott's order, are cited as "applications for payment." 
The Accusers recur to these matters on pages 131 and 132 in a series of 
misstatements which will be exposed in § 123. The reader will observe 
that appropriations made though not asked for, or made and not drawn ; — 
expenditures incurred by me and notified to the Board, although not 
refunded by them ; — appropriations asked for and made, but not placed 
at my disposal by the Board after I had myself incurred liability for 
them and paid them ; — all are recounted by the Accusers in such phrase 



283 

as to imply that the money was asked for, received, and disbursed by 
me. 

92. The Evasive and Insolent Replies. 

The Accusers continue (p. 73) : 

"Up to this time, repeated applications had been made to Dr. Gould, for 
information as to the time when the Trustees might expect the instruments to 
be mounted and brought into use. The replies had been evasive — sometimes 
insolent, and never satisfactory. It became painfully evident to the Trustees, 
that there was no intention on the part of Dr. Gould to put the Observatory in 
active operation, or even in such a state of forwardness as would furnish a 
guarantee to the public that the Institution was progressing." 

The accusation of delay has been disposed of, — both in this Reply 
(pages 104, 231) and in the "Defence" §19. — To the charge of " evasive, 
sometimes insolent" replies, I have nothing to say other than to give an 
unqualified and broad denial, and to quote from the closing paragraph of 
Mr. Olcott's Manifesto : 

"In our private intercourse he [Dr. Gould] has been courteous and gentle- 
manly.' 5 

93. The insults to visiters. 

This charge, so far as it relates to the two visits of Dr. Armsby with 
Messrs, Wilder and Pruyn — has been considered by the Scientific Coun- 
cil in the "Defence" § 13, and on pages 86, 87,. of this Reply. So far as 
it relates to others, not Trustees, I declare it false and calumnious, and 
challenge a show of proof. The function of showman is not part of an 
astronomer's duties, yet it has been most readily performed, — and when 
the applications of visiters became so numerous that my own time and 
that of my assistants proved inadequate to the demand, I engaged the 
services of a special assistant for this purpose, so that not only our time 
has been gratuitously contributed to the scientific work of the Observa- 
tory ; but I have actually purchased, and out of my own means paid for 
the time of one person, exclusively for the service of the crowds who 
have been sent up to it, as if the few astronomical implements were a 
public exhibition of curiosities. No visiter was ever treated with unkind- 
ness or want of hospitality ; — none was ever refused admittance except- 
ing on three occasions. On one of these occasions two schools, with a 
large number of children, came up and endeavored to enter unannounced. 
It would of course have been improper to admit such a crowd which 
would have exposed several valuable instruments to injury, — but the case 
was rendered even stronger by the fact that a large galvanic battery was 
being tested at the time. The other two occasions were at times when 
the aid of none of the assistants was available, and I was myself unwell or 
busily occupied. The visiters were invited to call the next day. 

These things are not mentioned to show that I did not neglect any 
duty ; — for however disobliging and ill-natured it might have seemed, I 
should yet have been entirely justifiable in refusing untimely admittance 
to visiters, or the conversion of the Observatory into a show-shop. But 
they exemplify the intensity of falsehood which pervades this book of 
the Accusers. 



284 

94. Dr. Armsby's visits with Mr. Wilder and Mr. Pruyn. 

The circumstances of these visits have been detailed in Part I, where 
several pages are devoted to the subject. I have full reports from each 
of the assistants concerned, relative to each visit. I believe their 
accounts to be thoroughly true in letter and in spirit, and they contra- 
dict every essential declaration made by Messrs. Wilder and Pruyn on 
pages 75 and 76 of the "Statement." There is but one point upon 
which my knowledge is personal. This is the assertion that 

" A few moments before, Dr. Gould was seen at the window of his room." 

This I can personally contradict, since I was not there. An italicised 
sentence of Mr. Pruyn's, on page 76, declares that Mr. Winslow 

"Left the Trustees standing upon the steps for from twenty-five to thirty 
minutes." 

Mr. Winslow assures me that the interval could not have exceeded 
five minutes. 

I am convinced the whole account is as thoroughly false as this 
sentence, — and I will not occupy time and space with any extended dis- 
cussion, but will simply quote two not very consistent passages. 

The Accusers say, on pages 74, 75, in introducing these accounts of 
their visits : 

"Dr. Armsby and Gen. Pruyn were treated with similar discourtesy. In 
short, it soon became apparent, that those Trustees, who, in January, had 
opposed the restoration of Dr. Gould, preferring to retain Dr. Peters, were to 
be made to feel, as often as opportunity should be presented, the active displeas- 
ure of the man they had offended.' * 

Mr. Pruyn says (p. 76) : 

" On leaving the Observatory, Mr. Pruyn, solely for the purpose of endeavor- 
ing to preserve the relations between Dr. Gould and the Trustees, which he had 
been greatly instrumental in perfecting in the preceding January, remarked/' &c. 

This Mr. Pruyn is the same " General Pruyn" who, on page 129 of 
the " Statement," makes a forced and awkward effort to figure in the 
matter of the Heliometer, and whose proposition in January, of an iron 
dome I had not entertained. 

The reader will note the phrase : " restoration of Dr. Gould " in 
January. This would imply that I had been previously deposed from 
gome position. Yet the Accusers in one place deny that the place of 
Director had at that time ever been offered me, and the Managers were 
in January very careful to represent to those who did not understand the 
whole object of their intrigue, that Peters, although appointed (as they 
allege), " an observer," was to be strictly subordinate to me. 

In order to contradict the simple, consistent, and assuredly correct, 
testimony of the three assistant-astronomers, the rhetoric of the Accus- 
ers culminates in the announcement (p. 79), that to have declined to 
notice the alleged misdemeanor 

" would have been to discredit the statements, or censure the conduct of such 
gentlemen as John N. Wilder, Gen. Pruyn, Dr. Armsby, and other citizens 



285 

of equal respectability. If their testimony was reliable, the necessity 
for such action was most urgent!" 

The typography is mine. 

Let the public judge of the " respectability" of the persons named, 
after the expositions of this Reply. If any other person of " equal respec- 
tability" has ever made complaint, I for one, never heard of it. 

95. Resolution of May 22 and Reply of May 31. 

These resolutions and the letter of reply have also been very fully dis- 
cussed by the Scientific Council in the " Defence," $ 14. That the 
resolutions were preposterous and insulting, no gentleman could deny. 
As for ray answer, it may speak for itself. It is to be found in the 
" Correspondence," and in the appendix to the 3d edition of the 
•' Defence," It has been submitted to many gentlemen in high official 
position, — some of whom are noted as tenacious of all the "rights, 
privileges and immunities" belonging to their stations. One and all* 
they declare that there is no ground of offence whatsoever in the letter. 

It must be remembered that no complaint, was made to me, by Dr. 
Armsby, by either of his companions, or by the Executive Committee. 
Their first intimation of complaint was contained in the insulting resolu- 
tions of the Executive Committee, May 22, — the day after the visitation 
of Messrs. Armsby and Pruyn. In that portion of the reply of May 31, 
relating to my assistants, — a reply which was declared by Mr. Olcott and 
his majority to afford " sufficient justification for terminating his [my] 
relations with this institution, unless arrogance, insolence and conceit, 
are suited to the taste of gentlemen of this Board," and which furnished 
the pretext for the " Want of Harmony" resolution of the Trustees, — a 
reply which I regarded and still regard as being respectful, courteous, 
and as conciliatory and kindly as self-respect or manliness permitted, — I 
wrote as follows : 

" To communicate such a message would be to offer insult in return for their 
devoted zeal ; for I feel sure that they have treated every comer with that courtesy 
which was compatible with the performance of duty. Their course deserves, in 
my judgement, the gratitude as well as the approbation of the Executive Com- 
mittee, and I can not but express my surprise at a resolve which it is impos- 
sible for me to construe otherwise than as a censure, and which, if so construed, 
is entirely improper and unjust. If the Executive Committee have any sup- 
posed basis for such an implication, I shall be much indebted to them for what- 
ever information on the subject they may possess. 

" The time of four of these assistants, although contributed by them to the 
Observatory for scientific purposes, has always been at the service of every 
visitor, whatever his station; and those desiring information and instruction 
have uniformly found from them a kindly welcome and a full explanation of ail 
points upon which explanation has been asked and could be given." 

To this letter of May 31, no answer was returned by the Executive 
Committee, or the Board, except the " Want of Harmony" resolution of 
June 4, (see also § 104) ; which, according to a resolution subsequently 
presented by its author, Judge Harris, involved my "immediate with- 
drawal." 



286 

The Accusers speaking still farther of the letter say : 

" Occupying a position which he had but just obtained at the hands of the 
Trustees, and that, too, not without the most humiliating importunity, he now 
puts on airs, and assumes to teach the Executive Committee and the Trustees, 
what belongs to them, and in what manner they should discharge their duty." 

The position obtained from the Trustees ! by humiliating impor- 
tunity ! ! These declarations may go side by side with those which 
allege (p. 96) that Messrs. Henry, Bache and Peirce had been 

" satisfied and even grateful that the Trustees, by a reluctant vote, should so 
far yield to their earnest beseechings, as formally to appoint them their Scientific 
Council." ! 

The Accusers' modesty rivals their truthfulness ! 

96. Harboring of irresponsible Subordinates. 

The ingratitude and malignity of this sneer on page 79 of the ' : State- 
ment" will be appreciated by the reader. Instead of two assistants as 
promised by the compact, four had been willing to come, and were labor- 
ing gratuitously for the institution. They were in no sense irresponsible, 
and I reiterate here as elsewhere that from the first to the last the course 
of all has been manly and correct, and that their characters, intimately 
learned from domestic intercourse, have won my respect, esteem and 
affection, and do not fail to command the respect and esteem of all who 
know them. 

97. The Finances. 

The financial statements of the Accusers are such as to indicate, what 
may be expected, when they are forced by public opinion, by legislative 
action or by the courts of law, to make a statement of the funds under 
their charge, and of the disposition which they have made of them. The 
Accusers themselves show enough to make it apparent why they are 
unwilling to offer the detailed statement of their accounts, which has been 
so often called for. They have indeed, as they say, " greatly erred," but 
not in the direction which they assert. If, in good faith they had fol- 
lowed the advice freely given, instead of wantonly disregarding it at every 
step, while professing to follow it, and had not sought to cover up their own 
wasteful course, by charges against one who was not at all responsible 
for their contracts or their employment of contractors, the recent discov- 
ery of a planet would not have been necessarily accompanied by the mor- 
tifying announcement that no means existed at the Observatory for the 
proper determination of its position. 

I)r. Armsby, acting for the supposed Executive Committee, composed 
though self-constituted up to January, 1858, of Mr. Olcott and himself, 
employed the agents, workmen, &c, made the bargains, gave the orders, 
and Mr. Olcott certified the bills. They were the persons responsible for 
the expenditures. Many of the expenses were incurred, not only against 
my judgement, but against my earnest remonstrances. 

On page 234 of this Reply will be found an extract from a letter of 
Mr. Olcott written in March, 1857, soon after I agreed temporarily to 



287 

try the experiment of personally directing the constructions at the 
Observatory, and to whom I had applied for information regarding the 
finances. (For the use made, by the Accusers, of these applications, see 
the " Statement," page 36). It has been already stated that this 
attempt of mine to direct was soon abandoned upon the conviction thafc 
Dr. Armsby's meddlesome and ignorant interference could in no way be 
prevented. 

From my answer, 1857, March 10, to Mr. Olcott's letter of March 5. 

"The bills are indeed enormous How it was possible for Mr. 

Hague to set all instructions, both written and oral, so utterly at defiance, sur- 
passes my comprehension. 

" The present overhauling of accounts is, like the "actual cautery," far from 
agreeable, but eminently salutary in all respects. From Mr. Smith I have as 
yet heard nothing, but shall expect some information very soon as to the state 
of affairs." 

From a letter of Mr. Olcott, 1857, March 25. 

" Mr. Smith has been constantly engaged in settling up old bills in order that 
he might start free and clear of old transactions. It has been difficult, as the 
past is blended with the future in several instances. For instance, the fence is 
partly made — and in other matters materials are on hand. But he is closing 
up. The weather has been such as to prevent any mason work, and I believe 
there has been no delay which could have been avoided. The men are now at 
work." 

The only account of the Finances given by the Accusers is that on 
page 81 ; where it is brought in by force in connection with my letter of 
May 31. No account of moneys received is given, and that of moneys 
disbursed is not only extremely vague and general, but does not cover 
the ground, — -no mention being made of the outlays between the 1st and 
29th of August, 1856, (the period of the Inauguration, during which 
very considerable expenses must have been incurred,) nor yet of any 
outlays between September 1855 and August 1856, which were not 

" expended in the erection of the buildings contemplated by Professor Mitchel." 

I have very slight knowledge of the sums received or disbursed by the 
Managers other than that which is before the world in the publications 
of the Accusers themselves, — the only additional fact, in my knowledge, 
being two subscriptions of $500 communicated by me to Mr. Olcott and 
Dr. Armsby, — and $1000 from Mrs. Dudley, for which no credit has 
been given her in their published statements. 

The publication of an account of the Observatory by the Secretary., 
Dr. Armsby, in Munsell's " Annals of Albany," Yol. VII., has already 
been mentioned. This has a list of the donors, apparently clown to Sep- 
tember or October, 1856. 

A second source of information is the list published by the Trustees, 
in their garbled edition of the Observatory pamphlet, June 1858. 

From these several sources the following estimates of moneys received 
are deducible : 



288 

Probable 
"Trustees' According to 2d ed„ Inaug. truth, as far 
Statement," Munsell's Annals, pamphlet. as known, 
Mrs. Dudley, 

for Endowment fund, $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 

in 1852, 13,000 12,000 ) 9A , nn $ 13,000 

for Heliometer, .... 14,000 14,500 5 ZD ' 0UU ( 14,500 

Mr. Olcott, in 1852, . . . . ? 500 1,000 ? 

in 1856,*... 10,000 10,000 10,000 8,850 

Others, prior to inaug. f 12,000 10,150 ...... 10,150 

since inaug., 34,650 35,650 

$132,150 

This does not include the contribution of clocks, gas-apparatus, fur- 
nace for heating the Observatory {!), trees, &c, — the promises for all of 
these excepting the furnace having been given in 1855. 

The accrued interest under the financial care of so shrewd a banker as 
Mr. Olcott, who has had all these large sums in keeping for longer or 
shorter intervals, must have amounted to a handsome sum. Mr. Olcott 
informed members of the Council at the time that Mrs. Dudley's endow- 
ment fund, though nominally $50,000, was in bonds and stocks whose 
value was somewhat over $52,000, and which yielded an average income 
of nearly 8 per cent, on this value. From the data within my reach I 
believe that a fair estimate of the moneys received and interest accrued 
upon unexpended moneys taken at the lowest estimate up to August 29, 
1858, (the date selected by the Accusers,) would give an amount certainly 
exceeding $140,000. 

The expenditures seem to have been somewhat as follows : 

Building in 1853, $22,450 (" Statement," p. 81.) 

Meridian Circle and Calculating Engine, 

with freight, charges, &c, and freight 

of Transit Instrument from>Bremen, 10,000 

Books, (say) 1,400 

Comet Seeker, clocks, batteries, &c, . . 1,700 

Dwelling house, 10,000 (Manifesto.) 

$45,550 

Advance for Heliometer, 7,000 (" Statement," p. 81.) 

Additions to Observatory and gas house, 25,000 (Inaug. pamph., 2ded., p. 99,) 
Other amounts paid for instruments and 

other equipments, (say) 750 

878,300 



If these estimates, — which cannot be far wrong without inconsistency 
with some assertion of my Accusers, — should be even approximately cor- 
rect, the remaining available funds of the institution would certainly 
exceed $60,000. Yet the Accusers say that during the two years fol- 
lowing the Inauguration " $60,676.83" had been expended ! and that 
the outstanding and unpaid bills amounted to some $4000 more ! And 

* See § 30, page 214. 

t The Accusers say (p. 5) that in March, 1852, the subscriptions had reached the 
total of $25,000; and on page 81, that only $22,450 of this was expended. 



2S9 

this sum of about $65,000 corresponds with the account given by the 
same persons on page 99 of the spurious Inauguration pamphlet, where 
we read 

"The Trustees have appropriated, since the Inauguration, for the purchase 
of Books, Instruments and Equipments, about $30,000. 

"For additions and-.' alterations to the Observatory building, for Observer's 
house and Gas Works, about $35,000." 

And yet I cannot see how the books, instruments and equipments can have 
cost much more than $13,000 besides the $7000 said to have been 
advanced for the Heliometer ! 

I think the Accusers' accounts would puzzle much abler financiers 
than I am. 

98. Wasteful Expenditures. 

This subject has been sufficiently considered in Part I, page 104, to 
render farther consideration of it here unnecessary. The Accusers, who, 
it is to be remembered, are the " responsible guardians," speak on their 
page 82, of 

"this enormous expenditure, a very large proportion of which has, so far as 
any useful purpose is concerned, been really ivasted," 

thus in fact acknowledging their own culpability ; although the acknowl- 
edgement is made in order to render it a means of throwing odium upon 
me, and averting it from themselves. The waste had not been in any 
plans of miue, but in their own reckless execution of proper plans, as 
well as in improper plans and devices of their own. 

99. The Plans and Specifications of other Large Buildings. 

In his Manifesto, indorsed by the nine, Mr. Olcott said : 

"Dr. Gould had some time before procured plans at our expense, but with- 
out our sanction, of five large additional buildings, of which the present Obser- 
vatory was to be the nucleus. The cost of these buildings w r ould probably range 
from $100,000 to $200,000 under Dr. Gould's supervision." 

and again, speaking of the "gentleman from the west," that he was 
shown 

"a picture of the five new buildings, plans and drawings for which Dr. Gould 
has had made." 

In the " Statement," page 82, the Accusers also say : 

" Dr. Gould, upon his own responsibility, and without the knowledge of the 
Trustees, but at their expense, had procured plans and specifications of other 
buildings and erections, which could onlv be executed, at a cost ranging from 
",000 to #200,000." 



The accusation of having plans and drawings prepared is a very petty 
matter in itself; but in the use made of it, and in the inferences 
attempted to be drawn from it, it is as wickedly malicious as any of the 
other allegations of the Accusers. 



290 

The charge is so well harped upon that the reader might well suppose 
it based upon some act of inordinate usurpation, extravagance or other 
equally censurable nature. It is best disposed of by a statement of the 
matter; although like so many others brought up by my Acausers in 
their endeavors to find grounds of offence, the affair is too trivial to be 
worthy of the ink with which the account of it is made public. 

I have already alluded to the constant thwarting of my schemes by 
the officious and ignorant, though doubtless not always ill-meant, inter- 
meddling of Dr. Armsby ; whose plans and schemes varied from day to 
day, and with whom the conception of an idea scarcely preceded the 
order for its execution, however inconsistent it might be with the plans 
already laboriously devised by the study of weeks and months and fully 
approved by me. No restriction existed to his unlimited power of mis- 
chief; and it seemed therefore proper to appeal to his imagination to 
restrain him so far as possible from this continual interference. With 
this view I requested Mr. Hodgins to prepare a sketch of prospective 
additions to the Observatory in order that Dr. Armsby, when his fancy 
had once been taken by the sketch, might be more successfully withheld 
from the forming and beginning to execute schemes inconsistent with 
the prospective plan. All this was in December, 1856, before the plans 
for the present dwelling house were prepared. 

Mr. Olcott, to whom I communicated the scheme, expressed his 
approval of it, and the sketch which I requested Mr. Hodgins to pre- 
pare represented precisely those additions which the Observatory would 
certainly require if carried out on the scale originally contemplated, and 
arranged in a connected and sightly manner. 

No provision exists in the present edifice, for the convenient use even 
of an ordinary comet-seeker ; and none for an office. And although the 
purchase of any large equatorial was not contemplated until the instru- 
ments for absolute measurements should be provided and brought into 
use, — the time must of course come when an equatorial would be not 
merely desirable, but imperatively necessary, should the hcliometer be 
kept employed in its own peculiar work. Yet no place would be left for 
such an instrument. 

I therefore requested Mr. Hodgins to prepare a drawing showing a 
dwelling house together with an office-building surmounted by a small 
cupola, and a tower for an equatorial, connected by low galleries with 
the present Observatory, and to arrange them according to scale and dis- 
tance as furnished him. The arrangement and distances were governed 
by scientific considerations and by the shape of the ground. No struc- 
ture according to these plans was ever recommended, or even suggested 
by me, after they were drawn ; but the desired end of gratifying Dr. 
Armsby seemed at the time to be secured. He caused a photograph of 
the picture to be taken, and by allusions to this "prospective plan" I 
more than once succeeded in diverting his mind from new and wild pro- 
jects, which would assuredly have cost the institution much money, and 
then be superseded by some, perhaps yet wilder novelty. 

It is proper to add that, contrary to my intentions, the sketch was fin- 



291 

islied in water colors, owing to a misapprehension on the part of the 
draughtsman. 

The probable expense of execution of all those plans was estimated at 
$9000 for the dwelling house, $300u for the office, $7000 for the tower, 
and less than $1000 for the connecting galleries. I am convinced that 
they could have been constructed for a much less sum than the amount 
of injudicious expenditures upon the Observatory premises during the 
years 185G and 1857. 

So mucli for the "five new buildings," and for the "cost ranging 
from $100,000 to $200,000." The picture has hung in my office at tho 
Observatory since I have been in Albany, subject to the inspection of 
every visiter. 

One of the most shameless falsehoods in the whole book is that which 
represents me as proposing and advocating this plan, and the necessary 
cost of executing it, after the present dwelling house had been erected, or 
determined on, and in speaking of this plan as "other buildings and erec- 
tions," which were to be " in addition to" the " enormous expenditures" 
already incurred. 

100. Advances from private resources. 

" There are other statements" say the Accusers, page 83: 

" in this message of Dr. Gould — such as the allegation that he had been advan- 
cing from his own private resources the means of conducting certain preliminary 
operations, to which he alludes, but of which the Trustees have no knowledge — 
which a proper regard for accurac}^ would have induced him either to omit alto- 
gether, or very essentially to qualify." 

This alludes to the following passage in my letter of May 31 : 

" The undersigned .... has been conducting the preliminary opera- 
tions to the best of his ability; advancing the requisite means from his private 
resources." 

Whether the Trustees had or had not any knowledge of these opera- 
tions is an unimportant question. It is very certain that they might 
have had if they desired, for they were very frequently, not merely invited, 
but earnestly urged to visit the Observatory and make themselves famil- 
iar with its progress. But their intimation, that 

" a proper regard for accuracy would have induced him [me] either to omit 
altogether, or very essentially to qualify" 

my statement, — that the current expenses of the Observatory had been 
defrayed from ray private resources, is quite in keeping with the charac- 
ter of the " Statement" in general. They dared not meet and deny the 
fact stated, for they knew that it was not only true but susceptible of easy 
proof. 

101. Relations with Trustees. 

This subject has already been considered in Part First, pages 19, 20. 
Although the tenor of pages 83 and 84 of the " Statement" is in direct 
opposition to my averments, I confidently appeal to the published 



292 

*' Correspondence" which contains all my communications from and to 
the Board, and all those of an official character from and to its officers. 
No means consistent with self-respect was omitted to cultivate amicable 
feelings and to create pleasant relations with the members of the Board 
of Trustees without exception. And though I am not surprised at any- 
thing which certain members of the Board may utter, I am shocked at 
seeing the names of Messrs. S. H. Ransom, John F. Rathbone, William 
H. Be Witt, and Isaac W. Vosburgh, attached to a contrary declaration; 
since however they may think they palliate their course regarding the 
other accusations by the plea that they took Mr. Olcott's assertions upon 
trust,— yet the charge that I had adopted toward the Trustees or any of 
them a "vindictive" or " rule or ruin" policy, was one which if they 
knew it was in the book they must severally have known to be without 
foundation : 

" Towards those of the Trustees who had, to the last, advocated the appoint- 
ment of Br. Peters, he was especially vindictive* He spoke of them, on various 
occasions, in terms of ridicule and reproach. The treatment which some of 
these gentlemen received when visiting the Observatory grounds, showed, too, 
how deeply his youthful subordinates had been imbued with the sentiments of 
their principal." 

So say the Accusers, speaking of me; and nothing could be farther 
from the truth. The Secretary had notified me and the other members 
of the Scientific Council that the action of the Board Jan. 19, had been 
unanimous ! — -And as already pointed out, Mr. B. H. Pruyn, one of the 
three who endeavored to quarrel with my assistants when visiting the Ob- 
servatory grounds, says of himself ("Statement," p. 76), that "he had been 
greatly instrumental in perfecting" " the relations between Br. Gould and 
the Trustees" " in the preceding January." After I took possession in 
February, the fact was never thought of in my relations with any of these 
gentlemen : 

102. The Rapid Approach of a Crisis. 

" It now became apparent, that the affairs of the Observatory were rapidly 
approaching a crisis." 

Thus say the Accusers,— speaking [p. 83] of the reception of my letter 
of May 31. 

They had endeavored to annoy, persecute, torment, insult and dis- 
hearten me ; they had either disregarded my communications or made 
them merely the occasions for new indignities :— the malignity of one, the 
low cunning of another, and the sleek plausibility of a third had all been 
thoroughly devoted to the work. Their endeavors, indignities and 
intrigues had been treated by me like the idle wind which I heeded not ; 
and at last, all other means failing, they had succeeded in my absence in 
creating a pretext for insulting my assistants, and in using these very 
insults as an occasion for their still more insulting resolution of May 22. 
After the lapse of ten days, I had sent them the letter of May 31, already 
referred to, — and in which I can yet see nothing which I would willingly 
retract or change. But for want of a better pretext this must serve, — 
and Mr. Olcott exultingly discovered not merely 
" that the affairs of the Observatory were°rapidly approaching a crisis," 



293 

but also that my letter afforded 

" sufficient justification for terminating his (my) relations with this institution." 
Such was the "crisis," and such the "approach" of it. 

103. The Address of the Citizens 1 Committee. 

The public meeting of citizens, July 14, and the Address, prepared and 
published by a Committee appointed by the meeting for the purpose, 
have been already mentioned. The Accusers in their so called " State- 
ment" have not found it convenient to refer in any way to this over- 
whelming expression of public feeling. And their only allusion to the 
Address prepared by the Committee as expressive of the views of the 
meeting, and signed by twelve leading citizens of Albany, is not in the 
course of regular narration, but in the very collateral way of citing it as 
an illustration, — 

" of the surprising credulity with which these citizens, themselves ignorant of 
the true state of the case, have adopted and endorsed the perversions and mis- 
representations of Dr. Gould, and thrust themselves into the controversy." 

The Accusers continue : — 

"As might be expected from its origin, it is a partizan paper, and abounds 
with denunciation and severe epithets against the Trustees, and is liberal in its 
panegyrics upon Dr. Gould and the Scientific Council." 

Any one who may read this address, — a declaration and certificate 
which has comforted, cheered and inspirited many a weary hour, will 
need no explanation of the tone in which my Accusers allude to it. I 
invite the reader to look at the names of its signers. They may be 
found on page 93. 

104. Trustees 1 Meeting of June 4. — "Harmony." 

Of this meeting and the Resolution passed I have already spoken at 
some length ; — as also have the Scientific Council in the "Defence. 11 It 
is also necessary here to repeat that the meeting was called without 
notice to me ; — that ex parte and grossly incorrect accounts of the visita- 
tions of Dr. Armsby, were given by his two chosen companions ; — that 
according to the "Statement" a Report from the Executive Committee 
of Nine was presented, containing serious misstatements; — that Judge 
Harris was elected, appeared, and proceeded at once to the performance 
of his prescribed part by moving my immediate expulsion ; — that such a 
vote was at that time found impracticable, and after long and very warm 
discussion, a resolution was passed, which, as transmitted to the Council 
June 5, and to me June 14, is in the form given, page 87 of the " State- 
ment." 

I am informed by a member of the Board that he is confident the reso- 
lution as passed was not in the form certified to by the Secretary, Dr. 
Armsby ; that the meeting of the Board was not full, — two being 
absent; — that the assertions that "the report of the Executive Com- 
mittee was adopted by a unanimous vote," and that "all were agreed in 



294 

condemning the conduct of Dr. Gould" are false ; — as is also the asser- 
tion on page 89, that the Minority who refused to sanction the resolu- 
tion of June 26, 

"'distinctly disavowed any intention to justify or palliate the conduct of Dr. 
Gould." 

105. Reply of the Scientific Council to Mr. Olcotfs Letter. 

Mr. Olcott having transmitted the " Want of Harmony" resolution to 
the three other members of the Scientific Council, — with a letter in which 
he talked of his " painful regrets," these gentlemen replied, acknowl- 
edging it as their duty to investigate the case, asking for information as 
to the difficulties referred to, and promising io assemble in Albany at an 
early day. 

This reply of the Council is the subject of various sneers and insinua- 
tions by the Accusers on page 89 of the '* Statement," — accusing them 
especially of an assumption of prerogative, of conceit and of unworthy 
cunning. 

Yet how did the case really stand ? 

Of all the important scientific matters to the Observatory, the most 
important is the selection of a Director ; and, under the December com- 
pact, I had become director, subject only to the Scientific Council, as Mr. 
Olcott's letter to Prof. Henry, 1858, Jan. 23, stated : 

" We placed the Observatory, on the day after you left, in the entire and 
exclusive charge of Dr. Gould, subject only to the Scientific Council." 

It was, of course, inconsistent with self-respect, and with their obliga- 
tions to the donors, and their pledges to the public, to yield the func- 
tions which had existed for nearly three years. The Council had 
received no pay or emolument of any sort. They had gratuitously given 
much time and attention to the scientific concerns of the Observatory, 
for the sake of making it a first-class observatory, as the Trustees had 
promised it should be, under their direction. They had incurred con- 
siderable expenses in journeyings on its account, and in residing away 
from their homes ; but without permitting any reimbursement of their 
expenses by the Trustees or Executive Committee. Their time, efforts, 
and intellectual labor, had been expended upon this Institution. 

They could not be deprived of their control without a violation of 
pledges given to them, to the donors, and to the public, as well as of a 
compact solemnly ratified by both parties, — the Trustees on one side, the 
Scientific Council on the other. Of this compact Mr. Olcott had spoken 
in such strong terms as these, in his letter to Prof. Henry, just quoted : 

"I am sorry that we can be supposed capable of disappointing the expecta- 
tions which we authorized you to indulge, and which our honor is concerned in 
maintaining." 

Language can hardly be stronger than this, from the author of the 
propositions which were made to the Council in behalf of the Board, and 
ratified by the resolutions of both bodies. 

The Council had no control over the financial affairs of the Observa- 
tory ; and if, as is now pretended by the Accusers, they also had none 



295 

over the scientific concerns, what a mockery was the whole arrangement ! 
The beginning was a delusion and a snare ; and they were richly repaid 
for their confidence in those who brought them into this position. They 
were too confiding ; and they have reaped their reward ! 

What was the object of communicating with Professors Henry, Bache 
and Peirce in regard to want of Harmony, and to new arrangements, if 
they had no authority, or "color of right?" Why did not the Board 
proceed to adopt its new arrangements, and to execute them, independ- 
ently of the Council ? Why did they direct the President to "communi- 
cate these facts to the ' Scientific Council' ?" It is plain that they were 
aware of the Council's functions, under the compact, — that there was 
still a lingering feeling that the pledges and promises made to them 
could not be broken at one blow. 

106. Trustees' meeting of June 26 — Determination to "rid themselves 

of Dr. Gould." 

" The determination of" Mr. Olcott and his followers, in the Board, " to rid 
themselves of Dr. Gould, was unalterable." (" Statement," p. 89.) 

" The Trustees had determined, as t\mj had done once before, to get rid of 
Dr. Gould." (p. 103.) 

"The only desire of the Trustees was to relieve the Observatory from his 
charge." (p. 170.) 

These and other similar expressions by the same authors suffice to 
show the malignity which had been " unfolded" in the mind of the angry 
President by my courteous though decided refusal to comply with his 
demands, when unreasonable. The plea 

"that the best interests,_if not the salvation of the Institution, required that 
this should be done," 

might have had more weight if Mr. Olcott had not declared that the 
institution would not, before the beginning of 1860, be in possession of 
any available means, — and w 7 ere it not that my own services and those 
of my assistants were not only purely gratuitous, but even the current 
expenses defrayed from my own resources. It will hardly be pretended 
that another astronomer would have been found willing "to work for 
nothing and find himself;" and unless the scientific interests of the 
Observatory were suffering by my presence, would " the salvation of 
the institution" require me to be expelled previous to the date at which 
some income from the endowment fund would be available ? And as to 
these scientific interests, does Mr. Olcott profess to be a better judge 
than Professors Hem-y, Bache and Peirce combined ? 

No, the evil passions of this man were aroused, — passions whose 
impatience of check and malignity of purpose have impelled him for 
personal motives to a course of action utterly regardless of the interests 
of the institution confided to his protection, and which he was to cherish 
as a sacred trust. — This institution might have rendered his name a 
precious memorial and an honored word, when other associations were 
buried in oblivion, — but it will now stand connected with it, as fit only 
for that immortality of infamy which distinguishes the name of him who 
fired the Ephesian temple. 



296 

The proceedings of this meeting of June 26 have been detailed else- 
where, and a reference to what has been there said will render farther 
remarks here, unnecessary. 

107. Mrs. Dudley's Letter and the Reply of the Majority. 

On Monday, the 28th of June, the day previous to the arrival of the 
Council in Albany, and the day on which the abstract of Mr. Olcott's 
Manifesto of Saturday the 26th, was published, Mrs. Dudley, the founder 
of the Observatory, and the giver of probably more thau one-half of its 
entire receipts, sent a letter to the Board of Trustees, as follows: 

Albany, June 28, 1858. 
To the Trustees of the Dudley Observatory : 

Gentlemen — I am surprised and grieved to learn, through the medium o* 
the public press, that serious difficulties have arisen betweeu yourselves and the 
Director of the Dudley Observatory; and that you demand the withdrawal of 
the Director, and refuse to refer the difficulties in question to the Scientific 
Council, except upon the basis of the removal of one of their own body, to 
whom the management of the Observatory has been entrusted. 

It is well known to you that my large donation was made under the express 
condition that the Observatory should become a National Institution, dedicated 
to the advancement of one of the noblest branches of science, and that t e emi- 
nent gentlemen composing the Scientific Council, should be entrusted with its 
development and management. I relied upon the gentlemen who have been 
named as Trustees, in the original act of incorporation, passed several years 
before, to co-operate harmoniously with the Council, and have never sought to 
interfere with your action, so long as it appeared to be directed towards the 
great objects to which the Observatory is dedicated. 

Having undiminished confidence in the intentions and ability of the Council to 
accomplish the ends proposed, I cannot but feel the most earnest desire that 
every member of it shall receive the hearty co-operation and support of the 
Trustees, without which all our efforts must fail. Learning that the action of 
your Board, which I refer to, is not unanimous, I have now respectfully to 
request that those members of it who cannot cordially continue to discharge the 
duties which devolve upon them in connection with the Scientific Council, as at 
present organized, and with the Director now in charge, shall resign, and leave 
their places to be filled by such donors to the Observatory as may be selected 
by the remaining Trustees. 

The disinterested zeal for the cause of science, which has prompted you to 
undertake the labors and responsibilities which have devolved upon you, will, I 
trust, lead any of you without hesitation to withdraw from the control of the 
Observatory, rather than hazard its success by placing it beyond the supervision 
of those gentlemen whose names have been the guaranty to most of the other 
large contributors to the Observatory, as well as to myself. 
I am, Gentlemen, 

With much respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

BLANDINA DUDLEY. 

Referring to this letter, the Accusers use the following language 
(p. 93) : 

"The man who dared to invade the seclusion of this aged lady, and obtain 
her signature to this paper, uncomprehended and incomprehensible, as it was, 
by her, is guilty of moral forgery. No measure of condemnation or contempt 
is adequate properly to characterize such an act. And yet this was done — 
done, too, by a prominent party to this controversy — done with the most 
unworthy motives — not with any hope of influencing the action of the Trustees, 



297 

but for the purpose of exciting prejudice against Jthem where the facts arc not 
and cannot well be known. 

Fully aware of all these circumstances, and of the moral fraud which had 
been practised upon this excellent and venerable lady; and knowing, toOj as 
they did full well, how totally unfamiliar she was with' all the facts which enter 
into this controversy, the Trustees, nevertheless, thought it expedient to reply 
to the letter, as though she had been its author, in kind and courteous terms." 

There can be but little doubt that, in the above allusion, the Accusers 
intend to intimate : 

1st. In regard to myself, — that I either prepared this letter of Mrs. 
Dudley's, or procured her signature to it, or both ; as also that I " invaded 
her seclusion," and gave my own coloring to facts with which she was 
unfamiliar, and which she accepted from me as true, although they were 
not true. 

2d. In regard to Mrs. Dudley, that "her signature " was obtained to 
a paper drawn' up, not by her wishes or procurement, and which was 
" uncomprehended and incomprehensible by her." On p. 92, the Accu- 
sers say, in so many words : 

" No one, not even Dr. Gould himself, will say that it was written or even 
dictated by Mrs. Dudley." 

What an array of infamous and false accusations ! — What malignant 
insinuations ! — What measureless ingratitude ! — And coming from the 
man, too, who boasts on page 23 of the " Statement," that less than two 
years previous to this very time, he " obtained from Mrs. Dudley the 
munificent donation of $50,000!" I know less of Mrs. Dudley than 
others, but I have the very best authority for saying that her capacity 
for business, her vigor of mind, and her powers of comprehension were 
quite as active and strong at the date of this letter as they were when 
her donation was obtained. And if the charge of "moral forgery" is 
applicable anywhere, it belongs to Mr. Olcott, who has obtained money 
from her, and not to others who have not. 

As for the accusations in regard to myself, I declare that I never saw 
the letter until it was shown to me already signed by Mrs. Dudley ; 
that, — knowing how much she has been distressed by the threatened fail- 
ure of her cherished plans, by the unspeakable ingratitude of Mr. Olcott, 
whose success in life had been due to the encouragement and protection 
of Mr. Dudley, and who had been appealed to by his widow to aid her in 
rearing some lasting monument in honor of her husband and his benefac- 
tor, — I have, since my residence in Albany, studiously refrained from 
introducing a subject which could give her pain ; that my strong con- 
viction is, that I had not seen or communicated with Mrs. Dudley for 
several weeks previous to the time when this letter was handed me, 
already signed ; that I am now aware this step had been in contempla- 
tion by her for some time, and was taken by her, after full consultation 
with a gentleman as much honored for his high character as for his pub- 
lic station and services ; and finally that, to the best of my remembrance, 
I never conversed with Mrs. Dudley more than twice upon details of 
observatory matters or difficulties, and never sought to influence her 
views upon these points. A sense of gratitude for what she had so 

20 



298 

recently endeavored to accomplish for my chosen science has led me to 
avoid a subject which to her is the source of such bitter grief. 

Mrs. Dudley is fully competent to speak for herself, — but apart from 
her appeals for the protection of the institution whose existence was due 
to her bounty and upon which the hopes of her declining years had cen- 
tered, she desires to avoid entering into a controversy which she naturally 
deems unsuited to her sex and position. — The indecent and false insinu- 
ations made by the Accusers, relating to herself personally, she treats with 
the contempt which they deserve. 

The answer of the Accusers, as given on pages 93 and 94 of the 
" Statement," is without date. No answer having been received from 
the Board or its officers, Mrs. Dudley's letter was inserted by her friends, 
in one of the daily papers of the 1st of July. And in the evening, the 
newspaper under Mr. Olcott's control published this pretended answer, 
which had not been sent to Mrs. Dudley. Mrs. Dudley immediately 
addressed a rejoinder to the majority through the same channel — the 
public press. To this second letter, of which I had no suspicion before I 
saw it in the newspaper, — the Accusers find it discreet to make no refer- 
ence. It was as follows : 

Albany, July 2, 1858. 
To the Trustees of the Dudley Observatory : 

Gentlemen — So far from entertaining the desire or design of entering into a 
conflict which I deem discreditable alike to man or woman, it is with unfeigned 
reluctance that I take the liberty of addressing you, even for the purpose of 
peaceful counsel. 

If the professions of a desire to please me, contained in your answer to my 
letter of the 28th ult., are to be practically realized, the welfare of the Dudley 
Observatory must be deemed by you paramount to all selfish considerations 3 
and not sacrificed at the shrine of petty personal animosity. 

The name of my husband — a name to whose honor it has been my pleasing 
duty to consecrate my life — having been permanently associated with this Insti- 
tution, through my instrumentality, I cannot acquiesce in any policy calculated 
to defeat the object I had principally in view, in largely contributing to the 
establishment of an institution intended to perpetuate the memory of a man as 
sincerely cherished by me since dead as he was honored while living. 

As a practical measure, deemed by me well calculated to harmonize existing 
antagonism in the executive administration of the Dudley Observatory, permit 
me to commend to your favorable consideration and adoption the second in order 
of the resolutions adopted, at the meeting of June 30, by the Scientific Council, 
which is in the words following, viz . : 

" To refer the difficulties between Dr. Gould and the Trustees to five discreet 
and wise citizens of Albany, — two to be named by the Trustees, two by the 
Scientific Council, and these four to choose a fifth. The award of these arbi- 
trators to involve the complete decision as to the future arrangements of the 
Institution; and the Trustees and Scientific Council to pledge themselves to abide 
by the determination." 

Appreciating at their intrinsic value the substance and style of the published 
copy of your answer to my letter of the 28th ult., 

I remain, the friend of the Observatory, 

BLANDINA DUDLEY. 

A copy of the answer of the Majority to Mrs. Dudley's first letter, 
was subsequently transmitted by them to Mrs. Dudley. Four of the 
signing Trustees were not even donors to the Institution ! 



299 

108. Assembling of the Scientific Council in June. 

In conformity with promise the three other members of the Council 
arrived in Albany June 29th. Notwithstanding Mr. Olcott's implied 
promise, no charges or specifications of any of the " constantly recurring 
difficulties" and no illustrations of the " want of Harmony" had been sent 
them. Not until one of them had arrived in the city, and the other two 
were already within the limits of the State, did they hear of the meet- 
ing, at which Mr. Olcott had presented his Manifesto, and the Board had 
indorsed it, and voted that I should not be recognized as a member of 
the Scientific Council. It was then they were met with that extra- 
ordinary medley of accusations, slanders and vituperation. 

"It was evident," say the Accusers, (page 94), "from the beginning, that 
they had hastened to Albany for the purpose of sustaining their associate. He, 
not the Trustees, had appealed to them, and they had resolved not to desert him 
in his hour of need." 

In this short sentence three distinct falsehoods are expressed. 
The Council may speak for themselves in reply. I cite from the 
11 Defence" a part of what they say on the subject : 

" Being informed by the Trustees that difficulties existed between them and 
Dr. Gould, we hastened to this city in accordance with a previous arrangement, 
although at a time when it was exceedingly inconvenient for us to leave home, 
and pressing duties relative to our respective offices demanded our attention. 
We came with the determination rigorously to examine into the state of affairs, 
to ascertain how much of error might be due to each party, and to suggest 
rules for the government of both in their subsequent intercourse. We came not 
as partizans to uphold Dr. Gould in what we might consider the wrong, but as 
men having a solemn duty to discharge towards the community, anxious to pre- 
vent the dissipation of a noble bequest, anxious to avert the disgrace to the city 
of Albany, to ourselves, to our friends in the Board, which would result from 
an open and uncompromising rupture between our associate and the Board of 
Trustees." 

The Council came to inquire into the facts of an alleged want of 
harmony, and with hopes of conciliation. For the sake of all parties — 
for the sake of avoiding a conflict between Science and Power — for the 
sake of other institutions, where money must be raised and managed by 
one set of persons, and the operations be guided by the professional 
knowledge of another set, — they desired to avoid the scandal of a public 
conflict. They have no taste for public controversies, nor for the bad 
notoriety which they give. They had accepted what they considered a 
trust for Science ; it was sacred in their eyes ; and connected with views 
reaching far above personal questions or considerations. The Board, 
while professing to treat them with great respect, assumed that they were 
to occupy an antagonistic position, and proceeded to treat them accord- 
ingly. 

109. Relations of the Council again. 

On this subject I will refer the reader to § 7, as also to Article I of 
the legal points, as given on page 156. And it will not be difficult for 
any one who has read the account of the original election, of the com- 
pact, and of the meeting in January, to appreciate the following para- 



■i 



300 

graph given on page 96 by the Accusers, in reference to the position of 
the Council : 

" When they had last been in Albany, in their anxiety to retain even a slight 
footing in the Observatory, they were satisfied, and even grateful, that the 
Trustees, by a reluctant vote, should so far yield to their earnest beseechings, as 
formally to appoint them their Scientific Council, at the same time declaring, as 
the measure of their authority, that the Board would ' at all times be happy 
to receive from them any suggestions which they might deem calculated to 
advance the object and views of the institution. 5 " (p. 96.) 

110. The Compact. 

I continue the quotation from the " Statement of the Trustees" pp. 
96, 97. 

<c Now, they proceed at once to resolve, ' That it is not consistent with the 
obligations by which the Trustees have bound themselves to the Scientific Coun- 
cil, to the donors and to the public, for the Trustees to appoint or remove, the 
Director of the Observatory, without the concurrence of the Scientific Council.' 

" It may be useful to pause here for a moment, and consider the full scope 
and import of the resolution. It speaks of obligations — obligations of the 
Trustees — obligations self-imposed — by which the Trustees have bound them- 
selves to the Scientific Council. It speaks of a solemn compact by which the 
Trustees had surrendered to these gentlemen a very essential part of the power 
delegated to them by the Legislature. The inquirer after truth will be amazed 
to know that the only foundation upon which these arrogant pretensions are 
based, is contained in the resolution of the 19th of January, which has already 
been noticed." 

This hardly needs reply. The foundation of the claims of the Council 
is the Compact, based on the letter of Mr. Olcott, ratified and confirmed 
by the Resolution of Jan. 19, and the force of which was in no manner 
impaired by the clauses so cunningly inserted in that and other Resolu- 
tions. Mr. Olcott's own subsequent letter to Prof. Henry, January 28, 
affords abundant proof of this. 

By this compact I was in full and exclusive charge, subject only to 
the Scientific Council ; and the solemn and earnest declarations of the 
Council, which the Accusers pitifully attempt to ridicule by calling them 
" high sounding phrases," well express the sense of deep responsibility 
felt by every member of that body. 

111. Transactions of July — Refusal of hearing to the Council — 
"Expulsion" of the Scierttific Council. 

Upon page 103 of their ''Statement" the Accusers say that 

" They believed, as every reader of this history will believe, that the gentle- 
men composing the Scientific Council, were brought to Albany, as they had 
been in January, to overrule the action and thwart the purposes of the Trus- 
tees. In all their proceedings, from first to last, they exhibit themselves as 
they had done before, not as the disinterested advisers of the Trustees, but as 
the partizans and champions of Dr. Gould." 

This paragraph is sufficiently characteristic. The Managers intended 
to dismiss me in January, and this was one of the purposes in which 
they were thwarted ! Yet not a month previous* Mr. Olcott had 
written to Prof. Bache a letter of which the following sentence is an 
extract : 



301 

" If driven from our association with you, we shall be upon the ocean with- 
out a star to guide or compass to direct our course, and we have do idea where 
in such an event we shall laud. We cannot but regard Buch an even! as a Mow 
to our most cherished individual regards, and not less so, to the science of our 
country. If permitted to labor with our present Scientific Council, we shall 
not cease in our efforts until the Dudley Observatory is elevated to a position to 
do credit to our country, and to the scientific men who have identified their 
names with the Institution." 

This sentence contrasts strongly with the statement that the Scientific 
Council had been brought to Albany in January as a hostile party to 
the Trustees. It was not till July that the disclosure was made ; the 
Trustees acknowledge that they had determined in January, as in July, 
*« to get rid of Dr. Gould ;" yet on the 19th of December, Mr. Olcott 
had used the language above quoted, and January 9 the Trustees voted 
unanimously according to the " Statement," that they would 

" ever receive, with the greatest deference and respect, the suggestions of gentle- 
men whose names are so illustrious in science, and w r ho are so disinterested in 
their efforts for its advancement J" 

The Trustees had resolved to get rid of me in January, and yet 
indorsed me in that very month. And it is after such an indorsement in 
the beginning of 1858, that a catalogue of crimes, prior to 1858, is pre- 
pared against me in a pamphlet of 173 pages. Is there no moral statute 
of limitations ? Mr. Olcott wrote in October, 1857, 

"All we have done and are doing is for American science, and we are dis- 
posed to be governed altogether by our Scientific Council. We have unbounded 
confidence in them in everything, and we wish them to consider us as an hum- 
ble instrument in their hands in carrying forward this great enterprise. We 
have not a personal wish, object or interest in this matter. We are willing to 
sink or swim, with a Henrj 1 -, a Peirce, a Bache, and a Gould, as the only chance 
of immortalizing ourselves in this world." 

And does not this one extract contain a virtual sanction of all that I 
bad done previously, and in itself afford a complete answer to the whole 
array of charges which are now brought forward a,gainst me and the other 
members of the Council ? 

The Scientific Council knew at the time of their visit to Albany 
in January the whole breadth and depth of the intrigues by which 
I was to have been insulted into resignation. It was their business 
to expose these intrigues ; to investigate my personal and scientific 
character ; to set right those members of the Board who were not 
in the conspiracy against me ; to do fearlessly the duties which they 
had taken upon themselves when they became a Scientific Council. 
How well they succeeded the Accusers themselves acknowledge. The 
Council were heard and they prevailed ; and open enmity took refuge 
again in secret calumny. Mr. Olcott well knew in June that if the Sci- 
entific Council should again be heard before the Board after an investiga- 
tion of his accusations, it would be to defend me a second time and doubt- 
less with success. When Professor Henry's letter of June 30, directed 
officially to the Trustees, was placed in the President's hands, — a letter 
informing the Trustees that the Scientific Council were in session and 
ready to receive any communications, — Mr. Olcott took it upon himself to 



302 

answer the letter. He ignored his fellow Trustees and assumed to act 
for them. He called no meeting to consider Prof. Henry's letter. He 
was the Board of Trustees. His letter in reply to Prof. Henry, Chair- 
man of the Scientific Council, reads as follows : 

Albany, June 30, 1858. 
Prof. Joseph Henry, Chairman: 

Dear Sir — I have received your communication of this day. Our Trustees 
have had no meeting since Saturday last, and I know of no further communica- 
tion which they have to make. If the Scientific Council have any recommenda- 
tions to make concerning a successor to Dr. Gould, they will be received by our 
Trustees with the most respectful consideration. 
I have the honor to be, 

Your obedient servant, 

THOMAS W. OLCOTT, 
Pres'i Board Trustees, Dudley Observatory. 

Had the President plenary powers ? Upon the Saturday referred to, 
Mr. Olcott made his charges against me, and Judge Harris, who had 
been a member of the Board half an hour, moved my dismissal. Does 
this look like a willingness to hear my defence? Will it be denied that 
Judge Harris attempted to obtain my dismissal upon the strength of an 
ex-parte statement by Mr. Olcott, without waiting to hear one word in 
my behalf? Yet the Accusers have the effrontery to say (p. 104): 

" Let it be remembered that the only hearing which had been demanded, or 
was desired, was to be had before the self-constituted tribunal which had been 
convened at his instance; and which, as they believed, and that too, not with- 
out sufficient reason, as they think they have already shown, had no other pur- 
pose in view but the protection of Dr. Gould and the defeat of the Trustees. 
Had Dr. Gould desired to meet the Trustees for the purpose of explaining or 
disproving any of the statements or charges by w T hich he felt himself injured or 
aggrieved, such a hearing would have been promptly and cheerfully conceded to 
him. He had been allowed such a hearing in January, of which he, and his 
associates, who had now been transformed into a tribunal of last appeal, had, 
to the fullest extent, availed themselves. They had, for the time, been success- 
ful. Now, they had no relish for a second experiment of the same kind." 

If the hearing which the Scientific Council asked from the Board of 
Trustees, and which they were denied by Mr. Olcott, had been accorded, 
they would of course have defended me from Mr. Olcott's charges. I 
had a right to their protection. They were denied a hearing because 
they would have successfully defended me. The Scientific Council knew 
my whole course, approved of that course, and were therefore ready to 
defend it. But they had defended me successfully once, and the Accusers 
coolly say that they had now no relish for a second experiment of the 
kind ! When the Accusers say that if "Dr. Gould had desired to meet 
them for the purpose of explaining or disproving any of the statements 
or charges by which he felt himself injured or aggrieved, such a hearing 
would have been promptly and cheerfully conceded to him," — they for- 
get that they had already "dismissed" him. Do the courts first decide a 
case upon the argument for the plaintiff, and afterwards hear what is to 
be said for the defendant ? And now contrast this one sentence — this 
deliberate profession of their willingness to have heard Dr. Gould in his 
own defence, with those other paragraphs in which these same Trustees 



303 

actually admit that they had then "determined, as they had done once 
before, to get rid of Dr. Gould !" Were men ever more clearly, more 
overwhelmingly condemned out of their own mouths ? 

The series of arbitrary, unlawful and wicked acts in July, was closed 
by a pretended " expulsion" of the Council. 

This was a fitting consummation of their foregone conclusion " to get 
rid of Dr. Gould." To do this, they must " get rid" of their pledges, 
"get rid" of their compact, and "get rid" of the Scientific Council. 
Compact, Gould and Council, stood together and must be " got rid" of 
together. 

112. Physical Force and the Sentinel. 

The charges of the Accusers upon this head are as follows : 

•• Finally, having exhausted both their denunciations and advice, they proceed 
to exercise squatter sovereignty by taking the Observatory and its affairs into 
their own hands — and to employ such physical force as they deemed sufficient 
to keep out the Trustees and defend themselves in their unlawful possession. 
The late Chief of Police, with an adequate number of assistants, have found 
steady and appropriate employment, probably at the expense of the Coast Sur- 
vey, in standing sentinel and guarding the premises against any possible attack 
from the rebellious and refractory Trustees. The Trustees themselves can 
scarcelv help admiring the cool hardihood with w T hich all this has been done." 
(p. 106.) 

" These men, relying upon their great name as a protection, have moved for- 
ward, regardless of law or right, to the execution of their purpose, with a 
resoluteness which would better become the desperado or the assassin, than men 
occupying their position in the scientific world. A sentinel now walks upon 
his post, at the gate of the Observatory, to repel any intrusion from its legal 
proprietors." (p. 170.) 

Now what are the facts ? 

They are, that the grounds of the Observatory having been declared 
open to the public, by an order of the Executive Committee of the 
Trustees, May 22, it became necessary for me to employ a person to 
attend upon the visiters who daily resorted to the Observatory supposing 
it to be a show. 

That this person is the very estimable and intelligent citizen, Mr. 
John Morgan, once Chief of Police, and well known for his agreeable 
address and knowledge of persons. 

That he has never had any assistant or assistants, except when the 
press of visiters required some of the astronomers to aid him. 

That he has been paid from my " private pocket," and not by the 
Coast Survey, as the Trustees insinuate with characteristic dignity, 
decency and respect for truth. 

That his duties have been to receive, and not to repel, visiters ; and 
that he has courteously and thoroughly performed these duties. 

The absurd statement of the Accusers is intended to prove that physi- 
cal force has been employed in retaining possession of the Observatory, — 
a charge which would be positively ludicrous if it were not wickedly false. 
There are thus three falsehoods, and one suggestion of a falsehood, in one 
paragraph. It is also studiously linked in the " Statement" with the 
Scientific Council's assertion of their rights. When it is remembered, 



304 

too, that Mr. Morgan was actually in the discharge of his duties for a 
month before the alleged occasion of his employment, the anachronism 
renders the charge absurd. Such are the statements of these men, 
blinded by their vindictive passions. 

This, although one of the least of the falsehoods which abound in the 
long tissue which the Majority of the Trustees term their " Statement," 
is one of the most easily exposed. 

I write these lines after having been hunted like a wild beast from the 
Observatory, and the attached dwelling, — equipped and furnished mainly 
through my labor and at my cost, — by a band of lawless invaders, hired 
for the purpose by Mr. Olcott, and aided and abetted by Judge Harris, — 
who had sat during the day upon what was, or should have been, the 
bench of justice. I have written but few words of this reply since I 
was informed by two ear- witnesses that Mr. Olcott had threatened that 
my friends " should walk over the dead bodies" of his hirelings before 
they should obtain admittance, and that " there would be plenty of blood 
shed, and bullets whistling around." It is not an hour since I have 
received the voluntary testimony, sent me by a repentant member of the 
band, who certifies under oath that he was engaged in his foul work, in 
the presence and with the expressed approval, of the Judge who penned 
the words quoted above from the "Statement." 

113. The Manifesto and the Investigation by the Council. 

Nothing strikes the Accusers with such astonishment, — nothing so 
provokes their indignation, — upon nothing do they dwell with such bitter- 
ness, as the boldness of the Scientific Council, in daring to defend the 
man whom Mr. Olcott had determined to destroy. The Council was not 
to utter a word of praise ; the Trustees would only allow it to condemn. 
What except conscience told Mr. Olcott that the Council would acquit 
me and condemn him? When he refused to call a meeting of the Board 
of Trustees to hear the Council, it was because he felt that investigation 
would prove him guilty ! The Accusers say, p. 105, referring to the 
" Defence," published after such refusal: 

' ' The entire vocabulary of compliment and eulogium in which these Scientific 
gentlemen are said to be unrivaled proficients, has been exhausted in extolling 
the merits of their colleague. This single fact is quite sufficient to show what 
the Trustees had to expect at the hands of such a tribunal. All that Dr. Gould 
had done, and more that he had not done, was deemed worthy of the most 
emphatic commendation, and the conduct of the Trustees throughout was 
denounced with equal emphasis." 

The sneer in the ftrst sentence is characteristic enough of the tone and 
temper of the Authors. And the whole paragraph shows what Mr. Olcott 
expected, and why the Scientific Council could not obtain a hearing. 

In the very next sentence of the " Statement," the Accusers again 
express the same dread of the result of an interview with the Council. 
They then go on to speak of the resolutions passed by the Council after 
Mr. Olcott had taken it upon himself to refuse the Council a hearing. 
These resolutions are published in the " Statement," and speak for them- 
selves. The ensuing allegation of the Majority, that the Council, after 



305 

retaining the Observatory in their own hands, had employed physical 
force to keep out " the Trustees," is absolutely false. The Scientific 
Council undertook their part of the agreement made with them by the 
Board, and by which the Observatory was placed in fcheir hands : the 
Trustees could not annul it without the consent of the Council, and it is 
binding to this day. The community know, too, who have employed the 
u physical force." 

The charges of Mr. Olcott were preferred and presented in writing ; 
and the Board had its choice between summoning the accused before 
them, or hearing his written answer to the written allegations. Common 
justice provides for a hearing in the case of the meanest criminal. Here 
the accuser was the President of the Court ; the members arc his col- 
leagues. The charges were made by him, and tried by them. The accused 
was not confronted with the accuser ; nor \m& he an opportunity even 
to make a written defence. And yet one of these charges is incompetency 
as an astronomer, which strikes at the root of his professional reputation 
and professional support; and the other is peculation, which, if proved, 
would farthermore drive him from association with honest men. 

These are the charges which, on the 26th of June, took the place 
of the accusation of " Want of Harmony " which had been made on the 
4th of the same month. Courts of justice refer to experts in cases where 
scientific questions are to be examined ; and here is one of the highest 
order, — the competency of an astronomer. What member of the Board 
of Trustees was competent to pass upon this, without the advice of 
experts ? Not one. What a melancholy spectacle of an abuse of power 
is thus presented! It would have been pronounced a high-handed 
measure, if, for no cause assigned, or for "Want of Harmony," or the 
desire of a "new arrangement," I had been deprived of any honorable 
position ; but when I am arraigned, without notice, upon the most seri- 
ous charges, (let alone their falsity,) condemned unheard, and voted out 
of my place in the Scientific Council upon this charge, what strength of 
language can convey a sense of this outrage upon all the reason, the feel- 
ings, the dearest rights, of man ? 

114. The charges of Incompetency, Peculation, Continued Delay, and 
Studied Attempts to Amuse with Trifles. 

These accusations, brought originally in the Manifesto, and indignantly 
refuted by the Council in the "Defence," form the staple of pages 108 to 
117 of the "Statement." They have, I think, received sufficient notice 
and renewed disproof in the First Part of this Reply. And were my 
Accusers any other men than the ones I now know them to be, it would 
seem strange that they could dare repeat accusations so overwhelmingly 
rebutted by the Council, after the most searching investigation. 

115. The Longitude again. 

The matter of the longitude determination, has been made the subject 
both of § 88 of this Detailed Refutation, and of a special chapter in Part 



■■ 



306 

First. Nothing more seems needed, than has been already given. — Still 
I will add a few facts. 

It is a fact, which may be verified by the accounts at the Coast Sur- 
vey office or the Treasury Department, that the telegraph expedition in 
which Mr. Bond was himself engaged for the Coast Survey, between 
Cambridge and Bangor, and which was under the direction of Prof. S. C. 
Walker, cost exclusive of salaries the sum of $904.25, or within $23.69 
as much as the work under my direction, which Mr. Bond says should 
not have cost "beyond two hundred dollars." And the expedition 
under Mr. Bond's direction, for the Coast Survey, between Cambridge 
and Halifax, which failed to give any trustworthy result, cost more 
than the sum which he names as sufficient for this work. Unless the 
data are precise, an estimate is worth nothing, and Mr. Bond had not the 
data to form an estimate for this work. If the transit-instrument of the 
Observatory had been mounted for this longitude campaign, the expenses 
thereby entailed would have amounted, at the very least, to three quar- 
ters of the whole sum estimated as needed for the operations, and much 
more than the building to cover all the telegraph instruments, which was 
used as the longitude station. The cheapest and most effective methods 
were used. 

It is a curious fact that not very long after the publication of the 
" Statement " a communication from Hamilton College was received 
by the Regents of the University, offering to determine the longitude of 
that place, (from what point is not stated,) and asking one year's time 
and $1000 as remuneration. This was accompanied by a document advo- 
cating the measure, but signed by the same individual who on page 166 
of the " Statement" alleges that the estimated cost of such a determina- 
tion is from $100 to $150 ! 

Dr. Peters asserts: 

" Mr. Bond, in September, 1857, kindly offered for the longitude the co-ope- 
ration of the Cambridge Observatory. This offer, orally made to me, [Peters] 
I communicated immediately to Dr. Gould, but it was by him instantly and 
despisingly refused." 

This, so far as it relates to myself, is without truth or foundation ; for 
I never heard of such an offer until I read it in the " Statement;" — and 
therefore could not have refused it, either "despisingly," or otherwise. 

Upon page 116 the Accusers say that 

" since the proposition to undertake this work was made in January, Dr. 
Gould has stated to several members of the Board of Trustees, that it would 
occupy twenty-five months, and that the work would be of such a character 
as to render it impossible to do any other Observatory work during that 
period." 

The only basis for this very untruthful assertion, is the following : 
In conversation with Mr. Olcott, at his bank, in April or May last, he 
inquired what length of time would be needed to make, reduce, and com- 
pute the observations for longitude. I told him that the time requisite, 
like the expense, increased in a high ratio in proportion to the degree of 
precision required; that the Coast Survey methods of observation and 
computation were guided by the one principle of doing the work as thorough- 



307 

ly as the present state of science and mechanical art permit ; and that T 
would examine the records of past longitude campaigns, and inform him 
of the average amount of labor they had cost. A few days afterward, I 
told him that though the length of time and the quantity of work had 
varied very greatly, according to the weather, the state of the line, and 
many other incidental circumstances, — a fair estimate of the time and 
labor needed for observation and computation, amounted to about one 
person's labor for twenty-five months, or twenty-five persons for one 
month. I do not think that any other person was present, although it 
is not impossible. Everything contained in the above quotation incon- 
sistent with, or in addition to this statement, I pronounce false. 
The Accusers continue : 

" There is obviously some mystery overhanging this subject, which the Trus- 
tees, professing their ignorance, leave to others to solve." 

and they go on to make their insinuations relative to the disposal of the 
money. 

Inasmuch as I believe this is the only point on any subject connected 
with the Observatory or its operations, in which the Accusers have owned 
the soft impeachment of "ignorance," it may perhaps be well to throw 
some additional light on these dark mysteries. 

Mystery I. The sura of $2,000, appropriated by the Legislature for 
"determining the true meridian, " was neither named by me nor by the 
Council, but by Mr. Olcott's lobby agent, — himself one of my Accusers 
(see page 123). Mr. Olcott is responsible for the estimate. 

Mystery II. This mystery of the Majority is their own act. What 
they have paid is exactly $600. This, together with more than $300 
besides, was disbursed by me ; the items were given in the "Defence;" 
the vouchers are in my possession ; instruments, apparatus an*d salaries 
were contributed by the Coast Survey. 

Mystery III. That the work could not have been properly done for 
"less than $200" as "the very explicit letter" of Mr. Bond has been 
made to imply, is evident ; 1st, from the considerations presented on 
pages 122 and 123 of this Reply ; and 2d, from the facts already stated 
on the last page. 

Mystery IV. The amount of the cash outlays was $928.94. Of this 
the Trustees paid $600, thereby earning $2,000 ; the Coast Survey paid 
$304.43, thereby obtaining what would otherwise have cost it more than 
three times as much ; the balance, $24.51, I paid myself, thereby cheaply 
purchasing independence of any apparent indebtedness to the majority 
of the Board. 



308 

These mysteries are of the Accusers' own making, and are as simple 
of solution as those of Udolpho. 

116. Attack upon the Coast Survey. 

After giving the letter from Mr. W. C. Bond which the Accusers 

had "through the kindness of a friend, procured," — and after again 

insinuating what they allege that they do not assert relative to the 

moneys, — they add (pp. 116, 117,) 

" The whole subject, as it now appears, is eminently suggestive. It might 
be useful for those, who, in the discharge of official duty, may be called upon 
to vote for appropriations to the Coast Survey, to satisfy themselves whether 
it costs $2000 or $200 to determine the longitude of any particular locality." 

The outlays for the field-work were, as the author well knew, neither 
$200 nor $2000 ; but $928.94, for ' Albany-New York,' and $904.25 for 
5 Bangor-Cambridge,' which latter measurement had to be subsequently 
repeated. The money was disbursed in the one case by myself, in the 
latter by Mr. Walker, and in neither by Prof. Bache. The amounts have 
been publicly stated, and the very items given, and the vouchers are 
subject to examination by any respectable person. All which Mr. Olcott 
and Judge Harris well knew. 

The character of this remark is in keeping with Mr. Olcott's other 
attacks upon myself, Prof, Bache, and the works under our respective 
charge. 

In October, 1857, he had said " We are willing to sink or swim with 
a Henry, a Peirce, a. Bache and a Gould, as the only chance of immor- 
talizing ourselves in this world." 

In December, 1857, he had written to this very Professor Bache : 

fC I certainly was willing to co-operate with distinguished scientific men, and 
was proud to enlist as a subordinate under your banners. It [the Observatory] 
might never have been revived from the tomb of its repose, but through your 
inspirations." .... 

" The services rendered by Prof. Henry and yourself in New York, enabled 
us to gain a footing there, and your identification with the enterprise has given 
it a passport to the confidence and regards of the nation." 

In January, 1858, his language and that of his followers had been 

that 

"they most gratefully recognize the valuable co-operation and advice which they 
have received from the Scientific Council, and the distinguished Superintendent 
of the Coast Survey, and will ever receive, with the greatest deference and 
respect, the suggestions of gentlemen whose names are so illustrious in science, 
and who are so disinterested in their efforts for its advancement." 

Now, this same Mr. Olcott says, of this same Professor Bache, that 

he is 

* ' accustomed to the exercise of arbitrary power, and not over scrupulous in 
the selection of the means with which to accomplish his ends." 



309 

Of this same Prof. Bacbe's acts as a member of the Council, this 
same Mr. Olcott says : 

"The great want of the Scientific Council, in the emergency in which they 
found themselves, was power. It had not been conferred upon them and yet 

the}' must have it. They had no alternative but to do, as 1ms often before been 
done by tyrants, usurp it. This they at once proceeded to do." 

This same Mr. Olcott,— throughout the "Statement," — sneers at, 
detracts from, and denounces, this same Prof. Bache ; he attacks the 
Coast Survey in anonymous pamphlets and procures the preparation 
and publication of bitterly hostile articles in the newspapers, — because 
Prof. Bache is its Superintendent. He attacks the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, because Prof. Henry is Secretary and Prof. Bache is a Regent. 
He abuses the Light House Board because these gentlemen are mem- 
bers. He assails the Nautical Almanac, because he supposed (though 
erroneously), that Prof. Bache was connected with it in some unex- 
plained way. All this Mr. Olcott has done, although anonymously, 
within the past three months, sending his attacks to all the members 
of Congress and to all the members of the Legislature of this State. 

What has so transmuted Prof. Bache ? What has wrought this 
mighty change in Mr. Olcott's mind ? 

Prof. Bache has dared to defend the character of the man whom Mr. 
Olcott undertook to " crush." He has joined with my other colleagues 
of the Council in preparing and publishing the "Defence of Dr. 
Grould ;" — and he occupies a position which, from its prominence, Mr, 
Olcott supposed more easily assailable than that of the other two. 
The event has proved, however, that Mr. Olcott was mistaken. 

117. The American Method, 

On pages 117 and 119 is a passage to show that the claim made for 
the Coast Survey of having perfected the apparatus for determining 
longitude is unfounded. This same passage, word for word, formed an 
editorial article of the organ of the Trustees, the "Albany Statesman" 
for July 6, 1858 ! The Accusers say that this claim 

" is indicative of the true character of the gentlemen who composed the Scien- 
tific Council." 

This reflection is wickedly false and "is indicative of the true charac- 
ter of" my Accusers. The only person quoted by the Accusers, 
against Prof. Bache says, in the Coast Survey Report for 1851, that 
the method of recording astronomical observations which is used in 
air} longitude determinations has " grown up under the fostering 
care of the Coast Survey." Again in speaking of the same 



310 

" Ameriean method" lie says; — " The electrie method of recording 
astronomical observations, introduced by the Coast Survey," etc. 
It is well known, that this method, as applied to longitudes, was 
introduced and matured by Coast Survey officers, or by persons 
employed in connection with its longitude parties. Professor Walker 
while in charge of the longitude department of the Coast Survey 
induced Mr. Saxton, Mr. Bond, Prof. Mitchel, Dr. Locke and others 
to engage in this matter. Prof. Mitchel's apparatus for right-ascen- 
sions was then tested during the campaign between Cincinnati and 
Philadelphia. Prof. Mitchel's apparatus for declinations is quite a 
different thing, though confounded with it by the Accusers in their 
desire to make capital against Prof. Bache, whose generous words of 
praise of Professor Mitchel and others, they deceitfully quote as con- 
flicting with the letter of the Council to the Regents ! So the remarks • 
of Prof. Peirce applying to Prof. Mitchel's declination apparatus, are 
ignorantly or maliciously set down as applying to the method of tele- 
graph longitudes, and contradictory to his own letter ! So, too, with the 
seeond quoted remarks of Prof. Bache. Mr. Olcott, who, as shown by 
his letter of Nov. 18, does not distinguish latitude from longitude, is a 
fit leader for a majority who do not know right-ascensions from declina- 
tions, and the two together are model managers of the scientific con- 
cerns of an observatory ! Yet Mr. Olcott assumes to sit in judgement 
on, my abilities as a practical astronomer; and the Scientific Council 
are made to condemn themselves by misstatements such as a pupil of 
a High School would be ashamed to acknowledge. The attempt to 
use the generosity of Professors Bache and Peirce against themselves 
is one of the meanest in the history of the controversy. It has not the 
audacity of garbling and fabrication, nor the easily contradicted direct- 
ness of a simple falsehood. 

I leave this point after quoting a paragraph from the communication 
upon this new method, which the much lamented Walker made to the 
Cambridge meeting of the American Association for the Advancement 
of Science, in the same communication which contains the account of 
Prof. Mitchel's registering apparatus: 

" I deem it, therefore, but a duty to the service in which I am engaged, to 
declare in the presence of the members of the Association, that, with the single 
exception of the experiment between Baltimore and Washington, by Captain 
Wilkes, in 1844, I know of no telegraph operations for longitude, and of no 
step in the improvement, or perfectionment of the art in Europe or America, 
which have not been the work of the officers proper of the Coast Survey, or 
©f commisioned officers and civilians acting temporarily as assistants." 



311 

118. The Council's Resolutions of July 2. 

The Trustees, or rather Mr. Olcott, in their name, had refused a 
hearing to the Council. Hoping against hope, and determined to 
exhaust all measures of conciliation, the Council had addressed to the 
Board a communication offering for their acceptance three different 
modes of compromise. This may be found on page 102 of the " State- 
ment." This communication was placed in the hands of a member of 
the Trustees to lay before the Board. On the refusal of the President 
to call a special meeting for the purpose of presenting them, they were 
placed in an envelope, and handed personally to him. 

The Council offered, in the first resolution, to take charge of the 
Observatory themselves ; in the second, to refer the whole of the 
matter in controversy to arbitration ; and, should both of these offers 
fail to meet acceptance, they asked, in the third, that a fairly consti- 
tuted Committee be appointed to meet them. Surely they might reason- 
ably have expected their first proposition to be accepted; for the Trustees 
had then no known difficulties with the Council, and it involved no recog- 
nition of myself. The idea that they were not prepared really to take 
charge of the Observatory, which is stated to have been the objection to 
that arrangement, was founded upon dishonoring suspicion. Besides, 
the sincerity of the Council could readily have been tested; and there 
was an easy remedy, if they failed in their pledge. But there would 
have been no failure to redeem it. The members already had the 
necessary understanding as to the time during which each of my col- 
leagues could personally attend to the Observatory. 

If the Trustees felt that their cause was a good one, why not submit 
it to arbitration, which is always a measure of conciliation ? Lastly, 
however "inharmonious" I might be, what had the Council done, that 
they should be refused a hearing by the Board ? After they had taken 
the pains to convene in Albany as a Council, why were even their 
"advice and suggestions" not to be allowed to reach the Board? 

Even in that resolution of Jan. 19, by which from being the recog- 
nized Council of the Observatory, their functions were attempted to be 
reduced to making suggestions and giving advice to the Trustees ; by 
which they were acknowledged merely as counselers of the Board, 
although by another resolution, passed in the same breath, the charge 
of sustaining the scientific operations of the Observatory had been con- 
ferred upon them, — the Trustees promised at all times to listen to their 
advice and suggestions. The President, however, now took upon him- 
self even to deny them a hearing ; unless as a preliminary, they would 



312 

recommend a successor to myself. His letters on pages 102 and 103 of 
the " Statement," show this extraordinary procedure on his part. And 
while actually the relations of the Scientific Council with him were such 
that his own words expressed " the most profound regards for them indi- 
vidually, and for the exalted positions which they occupy" (see his 
letter of 1858, June 30,) he declined to submit a proposition to the 
Board, in which they severally oifered to occupy the position of Direc- 
tor. Had he desired to know the details of their plan, these would 
have been at his service ; but he refused their recommendation, invited 
by his own letter, shut the door against all their propositions of 
conciliation, and actually refused the application of one of their 
friends in the Board, that he would call a meeting to receive 
and consider the propositions. On receiving the President's reply, 
the Council again addressed him, stating that their propositions had 
been addressed to the Board of Trustees, and respectfully requesting 
that he would lay them before that body. To this letter they did not 
even receive an answer ! 

The Council then having made a thorough examination of the charges 
in Mr. Olcott's Manifesto, passed the following preambles and resolu- 
tions, in which they tried the final experiment of putting their con- 
clusions in the form of "advice." The encouragement and satisfaction 
afforded me, by such words from such men, outbalance the vituperation 
of twenty Manifestoes, and the plausible slanders of a dozen "State- 
ments." — With the approval of Professors Henry, Bache and Peirce, I 
can easily bear the calumnies of nine times nine Olcotts and Harrises ! 

Whereas, The Scientific Council have received the resolution of the Trustees, 
demanding the removal of the Director; whereas, they find that Dr. Gould has 
been condemned without being heard in his own defence; whereas, the Trustees 
have resisted all the attempts of the Scientific Council to obtain for Dr. Gould 
the opportunity of meeting the charges which have been made against him; 
whereas, these charges appear to be mostly frivolous, with the exception of the 
two charges of incompetence and peculation; therefore, 

Resolved, That the Scientific Council must advise the Trustees that their 
persistence in their present course of removing the Director is opposed to all 
the recognized principles of justice; and is so utterly at variance with the sys- 
tem of guardianship, by which the laws of our country protect the rights of 
our citizens against every form of despotism, that it will be regarded as a bitter 
and burning disgrace by the whole community, and will not fail to obstruct all 
farther contributions for the support of the Observatory. 

Whereas, The Scientific Council have carefully examined the statement which 
has been transmitted to them by the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, 
accompanying the resolution upon which such removal is required; whereas, 
they do not find in this statement any reasonable foundation for the serious 
charges which have been made against the Director, whereas, they have 
examined the voluminous documentary evidence which Dr. Gould has trans- 
mitted to them in his defence, and whereas, they find in the evidence the tri- 
umphant refutation of all the charges which are made against him; therefore, 



313 

Resolved, That they must advise the Trustees that the removal of Dr. Gould 
would be a gross violation of their obligations to him. 

Whereas t This Council have carefully examined the scientific progress of the 
Observatory, and find it in all respects to be ably and judiciously conducted; 
whereas, they find that the labors of the Director and his assistants have been 
characterized by the utmost zeal and energy; whereas, they find that no oppor- 
tunity for astronomical observation has been permitted to pass unimproved; 
whereas, they find in the character of the work which has been already done, 
and in the unrivaled Meridian Circle which has been constructed under his direc- 
tion, the most indubitable proofs of the greatness of his capacity for astronomi- 
cal observation; therefore, 

Resolved, That they must advise the Trustees, that the removal of Dr. Gould 
will be an irreparable injury to the scientific operations of the Observatory. 

Whereas, The Council are persuaded that under the circumstances of Dr. 
Gould's removal, no honorable and trustworthy astronomer would be willing 
to occupy his place, and take unrighteous possession of the splendid instrument 
into which the suggestions of his genius have been incorporated by its celebra- 
ted makers; therefore, 

Resolved, That they cannot, by advice, or any other way, acquiesce in his 
removal. 

Whereas, The Scientific Council are informed that the Trustees decline all 
farther personal intercourse with Dr. Gould; therefore, 

Resolved, That an Executive Committee of their body be appointed, whose 
duty it shall be to conduct the scientific administration in all its relations to the 
Trustees and the general visiters of the Observatory. 

Resolved, That for the month of July, Prof. Bache shall constitute the Execu- 
tive Committee; that for the month of August, Prof. Peirce shall constitute it; 
and for the month of September, Prof. Henry. 

Then, and not till then, Mr. Olcott convened the Board ; — but without 
previous notice to the Council. The Trustees met July 3, passed a series 
of preambles and resolutions given by the Accusers, on page 123, and 
adjourned. — To the best of my knowledge they have never been convened 
since that time. 

Among their preambles and resolutions were the following. The reader 
will appreciate them correctly : 

Jlnd whereas, denying the authority of this Board to control the affairs of the 
Institution, Dr. Gould has refused to submit to its action and appealed from its 
decision to the Scientific Council, and that body, assuming powers with which 
they were never clothed, and exercising authority which, as they can but know, 
it was never intended they should exercise, have constituted themselves a tribu- 
nal to sit in judgment upon the legitimate action of the Board, and have, with 
surprising assurance, assumed to condemn and reverse such action; and having 
done this, have, without authority or color of right, and in defiance of this 
Board, constituted themselves an Executive Committee to manage the affairs of 
the Observatory; now, therefore, 

Resolved, That this Board, impelled by the exigency of the circumstances, 
regard it as their imperative duty to declare, and they do hereby declare, the 
relations which have heretofore existed between the Trustees and the Scientific 
Council, to be dissolved and terminated. 

Resolved, further, That this Board will feel constrained to regard the further 
occupation of the Observatory premises by the gentlemen composing the Scien- 
tific Council, or any other person by their authority, as a violation of the legal 
rights of this Board, so clear and manifest that it cannot pass unnoticed; and that 

21 



314 

the President of the Board be authorised, in his discretion, to take all necessary 
measures to secure the posession and control of the property of the Institution. 

As has been already stated more than once, a "notice to quit" wag 
immediately sent to the Council by Mr. Olcott, — but he found himself 
able to employ no legal measures. After six months we were ejected by 
a force of men without color of law, 1859, Jan. 3. Admittance was 
refused to me upon peril of my life, and my assistants in the building 
were expelled by violence. 

The Accusers on pp. 107-123, discuss the resolutions of the Council, 
last cited, endeavoring to hold them up to odium as usurpers of powerl 

119. The " Defence of Dr. Gould." 

This publication of the Council was prepared by them immediately 
after the last resolutions of the Trustees, — and was published exactly one 
week afterwards. It placed my character and reputation honorably before 
the public, and it reviewed and disproved Mr. Olcott's falsehoods one by 
one; in the same mode which I am now attempting to follow in this 
Detailed Refutation. 

Of the " Defence," and its Authors, the Accusers say, (p. 105 :) 

" At the close of their judicial labors, these men were able to present, as the 
result of their "rigorous examination," no less than thirtt-two points, 
methodically and numerically arranged, in all of which the Trustees are con- 
demned, and Dr. Gould acquitted — in which the Trustees are adjudged to be 
wrong in everything, and Dr. Gould in nothing. The entire vocubulary of com- 
pliment and eulogium, in which these Scientific gentlemen are said to be unri- 
valed proficients, has been exhausted in extolling the merits of their colleague. 
This single fact is quite sufficient to show what the Trustees had to expect at 
the hands of such a tribunal." 

The object of this statement is, of course, to intimate that the Council 
were unjust judges ; since it would, not unnaturally, be assumed by a 
public unacquainted with any of the persons concerned, that a quarrel was 
impossible where the offences were on one side alone. This has been a 
most serious disadvantage to me, contending as I have been against enemies 
whom no principle of honor, truth, justice, law or Christianity restrains. 

The Accusers continue, pp. 124-5 : 

" One principal object of this publication seems to have been to divert the 
public attention from their acts of lawless usurpation." .... 

. . . . " To go through the entire pamphlet and correct all that is erro- 
neous, would swell this statement beyond the limits which the Trustees feel 
constrained to assign to it." 

. . . . " These gentlemen set out by stating, that by the use of their 
name, and under the pledge of their management, the large donation of Mrs. 
Dudley and many other smaller donations had been procured. This point has 
already been alluded to. These gentlemen in their high appreciation of their 
own well-earned fame, have been known, sometimes, to assume, as their own, 
the credit which is due to others of less bold pretensions." 



315 

And they then proceed, on pages 125-163, with an endeavor, by tricky 
perversion and sophistical special pleas, to prove misstatements upon the 
part of the Council. — These several points it now becomes my duty, iu 
pursuance of the plan of this Refutation, to consider. 

120. Mr. PruyrCs Guaranty. 

Three pages are devoted by the Accusers to improving the opportunity 
of attacking a gentleman, who has honored me with his sympathy and 
support. To Mr. Pruyn^ admirable letter, re-published by Mr. Thacher 
in his " Key to the ' Trustees ' Statement," and in which the whole 
matter is fully and clearly set forth, I have already had occasion to refer. 

There are several points to be mentioned in this connection, — all of 
them showing the allegations of the Accusers to be either false or other- 
wise dishonoring to them. 

1. Prof. Bache, before entering into any arrangement in 1855, had 
required some responsible indorsement, in guaranty of the feasibility of 
the measures promised by Dr. Armsby. The latter offered to obtain it 
from Hon. J. V. L. Pruyn, and thereupon went to Newport to find him. 

2. Dr. Armsbj declared to Prof. Baehe, that although he did not suc- 
ceed in finding Mr. Pruyn at Newport, this gentleman entered fully and 
warmly into the plans at Albany. Well would it have been for all con- 
cerned, if Dr. Armsby had never been trusted or believed ; — so fawning 
then, so intriguing afterwards^ so venomous now. Well, if the smoothly 
insinuating ways of this plausible man had never entangled the Council. 

3. When I was about to present an account of the Observatory to the 
audience assembled at the Inauguration ceremonies, in 1856, Dr. Armsby 
gave me the information on this subject, and asked me to bear testimony 
to this early encouragement given by Mr. Pruyn. At that time I was 
aiot acquainted with all the circumstances, having been compelled by illness 
to leave the Providence meeting before its close. 

4. When my remarks were given in writing to Dr. Armsby, for publi- 
cation, I remember distinctly that he again recurred to the circumstance, 
and that I pointed to him the passage referring to the subject, as it has 
stood in print since that time. 

121. The Broken Barometer. 

This petty subject has been made the theme of so much misrepre- 
sentation and garbling, and was so fully explained in the " Defence," 
that little eomment will be needed, when the citations of the Trustees 
shall have been put side by side with the genuine language. This I 
will do ; referring also to Mr. Spencer's and Mr. Gavit's letters in the 
Appendix. 



Bte 



From the << Statement," p. 130. 
Take another of these " loose state- 
ments." These Defenders say: 

" Dr. Gould not only purchased no 
Thermometers or Barometers abroad, 
but he placed none in the charge of Mr. 
Gavit. . . . . We cannot hold Dr. 
Gould responsible for the non-recovery 
of the insurance, which business clearly 
belongs to the financial agent of the 
Trustees,. 



Again, the witness as to the " loose- 
ness " of these bold assertions shall be 
Dr. Gould himself. In a letter to Mr. 
Olcott, dated January 26, 1856, he 
writes : 

" Gavit will take charge of the Bar- 
ometers and Thermometers home from 
Paris. I have written to Mm about it. 11 



On the same day he wrote the same 
to Dr. Armsby. 



On the 14th of August, 1856, Dr.. 
Gould writes to Mr. Olcott: 

" The invoice inclosed pertains to the 
Barometers and Thermometers purchas- 
ed by Gavit in Paris/' 



And nearly fourteen months later, 
on the 3d of October, 1857, Dr. Gould 
writes to Mr. Olcott respecting the 
insurance on the broken Barometer as 
follows : 

"That Barometer matter, y it belonged 
of course to me to see about, and it has 

HOT BEEN. FORGOTTEN AT ANY TIME J' 



From the "Defence," pages T and 8v 
"Dr. Gould not only purchased nc 
barometers or thermometers abroad,, 
but he placed none in the charge of Mr. 
Gavit. Mr. Gavit, who subsequently 
made these small purchases, having 
found it impracticable to obtain autho- 
rity to carry the instruments in the 
original packages, unopened, across 
England, was obliged to intrust them, 
to the express, and some of them were 
broken. We cannot hold Dr. Gould 
responsible for any part of this, nor 
for the non-recovery of the insurance, 
which business clearly belongs to the- 
financial agent of the Trustees, to 
whom Dr. Gould more than once ad- 
dressed a reminder on this very sub- 
ject." 

What I wrote to Mr. Olc&tt, 
1856, Jan. 25. 

By the expedition of Spencer and' 
Gavit, or either one of them, to Europe, 
an admirable opportunity is aiforded 
to obtain a standard barometer, and 
thermometer. „ 

The trouble has been to find some 
one coming from Paris who under- 
stands how much care they require in 
transportation and is willing to give it. 
I will write to Spencer, asking him to 
attend to it; and Gavit will take charge- 
of bringing them if you ask him. 

Postscript to my letter to Dr. Armsby 
the same day, marked "Private." 
Mr. Gavit or Mr. Spencer will doubt- 
less be wiHmg to take charge of a baro- 
meter and thermometer home from 
Paris. The barometer has to be car- 
ried about in the haud~ I have written^ 
about it. 

What. I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 
1856, Aug. 14. 
The invoice pertains to the Barome- 
ter and Thermometers purchased by 
Gavit in Paris, and which were not 
quite ready in season. 

What I wrote to Mr. Olcott, 
1857, Oct. 3. 

That barometer matter it belonged' 
of course to me to see about; and it 
has not been forgotten at any time.. 
Expecting Mr. Gavit to act in the pre- 
mises, delicacy prevented me from doing 
more than ask a question now and then,, 
and I was under the impression that 
he was taking steps in the premises.. 



$17 

Finding, when last in Albany, that lie 
had done nothing, I mentioned the 
matter when writing to you. 

Neither of the trustees had any The order for The barometer and 

share whatever in ordering these Baro- ti lft „„,,.„, l L t»t ., 

meters and Thermometers theimomcters was given to Mr. Spen- 

Comment upon this very loose state- ceT ^ Mr - Gliomas W. Oicott ! 
ment of the gentlemen of the Scientific 
Council; the enthusiastic, if not discreet 
" defenders " of Dr. Gould, is unnec- 
essary. 

The collation of these two columns will probably suffice for any 
honest man. The garbling of the last quoted letter has been exhib- 
ited in §58. 

The original puerile, but malicious charge of Mr. Oicott in his Mani- 
festo, was as follows : 

"Some of the Barometers and Thermometers which Dr. Gould purchased 
abroad, were placed in charge of Mr. Gavit, and were broken on the voyage ; 
and although Dr. Gould has been often spoken to on the subject, it is not known 
that any steps have been taken to recover the loss from the insurers." 

Beside the reminders so frequently addressed to Mr. Oicott, I find 

the following sentence in a letter from me to Dr. Armsby, so early as 

1856, Oct. 22: 

"What was the result of Gavit's reclamation of the insured value of the 
broken instruments ?" 

The extracts which I have given speak for themselves. 

122, The letter about the Dome. 
The deliberate fraud in connection with this letter has been exhib- 
ited in Part First-, pages 27, 28 ; where it was cited as an illustration. 

123. Dr. Gould's demands upon the Trustees. 
From Mr. Olcott's Manifesto : 

" To say nothing of an application from Dr. Gould, in February last, for a 
new dome, which would cost several thousand dollars, he has, since his removal 
here, asked, not for a few hundred dollars for mounting the instruments, as 
agreed upon, but for more than $3,800, with the certainty that this amount 
will be greatly increased before the instruments can be mounted." .... 

" We have, as before stated, applications in writing from Dr. Gould, asking 
for over $3,800, instead of only a few hundred dollars, to which he was by 
agreement confined. This does not include $600 advanced to Dr. Gould for 
determining the longitude and $300, the application for which may perhaps be 
deemed as withdrawn." 

From the "Statement of the Trustees," pp. 131 and 132: 

" The next ' loose statement ' in Mr. Olcott's letter is exposed by the Council 
in the following language :* 

' Neither the estimates of Dr. Goujd for mounting the instruments, nor his 
demands upon the Trustees, exceeded $3,800, as alleged by Mr. Oicott. The 

* See Defence. § 2. 



313 

estimates, subsequent to January 21, were requested by the Trustees, and, as will 
be subsequently shown, did not reach an amount in any way comparable with thi# 
gum. The details of them we give in the proper place.-' 

(( Turning to these ' details,'* which we are told are to show that Dr. Gould's 
demands upon the Trustees since January did not reach an amount in ant 
way comparable with the sum of $3,000, we find them spread over several 
paragraphs. They are not given in a tabular form, as the Trustees, for the 1 
aake of convenience, will arrange them; but, as stated bj the Council, they are 
as follows : 

Balance of longitude appropriation, ........... .>.......... $1,-500 00 

For casing piers, . . 390 00 

For digging well, &c, r 324 00 

For Mr. Bygate's salary, 700 00' 

For Messrs. Farmer and Polsey, 258 98 

For batteries, HO 0O 

For rare old astronomical books, . 350 00 

Total demands by the Council's statement, $3,632 9& 

"In addition to these amounts thus stated by the Council, Dr. Gould had asked' 
for $300 for Pistor and Martins, and $300 in addition to what is stated above, 
to Farmer and Polsey; which would make the sum greater than that set down 
in round figures by Mr. Olcott. 

tc The Trustees are willing to believe that the Council did not sum up the 
items set forth in their ' Defence ' of Dr. Gould, and were ignorant of their 
aggregate amount; but even then, it was rather a ' loose statement,* and shows 
that neither the services of Prof. Peirce, nor the ' Calculating Machine,* could 
have been put in requisition/' 

The distribution of the promised balance of the longitude appro- 
priation, $1400, (the Accusers call it $1500) which makes up a 
large part of the sum in question, was proposed by me before, and 
not w subsequent to, January 21," a date named by the Council for 
the very reason that it excluded the suggestions made on the subject 
of this balance. The Accusers adopt the date, but make this balance 
figure at the very head of their account. If, however, we leave this 
point, — the fact remains, that (although two members of the Council 
heard Mr. Olcott promise this sum towards carrying on the Obser- 
vatory for the current year,) yet it was not " demanded," but the 
mode of its distribution simply recommended and formal permission 
asked to apply it according to this mode, in compliance with the advice 
of Mr. Olcott, who had orally given not only the permission, but the 
promise also I 

In order to make up the sum of my alleged demands as near to the 
$3800 as possible, the Accusers, in bad faith, actually include Mr. 
Bygate's salary of $700, which they well know has neither beeis 
demanded of, nor paid by them ! 

Also $258.38 for Messrs. Farmer and Polsey, in reimbursement to 
me of my payment of their bills for work ordered in the year 185-6 I 

* See Defence, §11, 



319 

Also $350 for rare old astronomical books obtained by me in con- 
formity with a request of the Managers nearly a year previous, and 
which were ordered previous to the difficulties and compact of Decem- 
ber 1857 ! 

So much for these wicked calumnies, regarding money matters. 

It will be remembered that on page 31 the Accusers also allege 
that they had been charged 8200 for bringing the calculating machino 
into use, although no account of any kind for this work was ever 
presented to them, and the total expenditures (by me) amounted to less 
than $15. 

In fact, not one tenth of this amount of $3800 has been given me 
for any bills not contracted previous to my coming to Albany. And 
besides the gratuitous labor of myself and my noble assistants, I hava 
borne from my own slender resources the total current expenses of 
the institution. What has Mr. Olcott to complain of? 

The " Statemeut" of the Accusers goes on to assert in the next 
paragraph that I asked for $300 for Messrs. Pistor and Martins. This 
is untrue. The amount was sent by me personally to Messrs. Pistor 
and Martins, rather than have the institution disgraced by an unde- 
served niggardliness ; and the fact was incidentally mentioned at a 
subsequent period in a note to Mr. Olcott, (as well as orally at the 
time, if my memory serves me right,) that he might have the oppor- 
tunity of offering its reimbursement, if so disposed. 

The assertion that I had applied for " $300 in addition for Messrs. 
Farmer and Polsey," is sheer fabrication, without basis of any kind. 
The entire balance due them, according to their own very reasonable 
bills, was promptly paid by me, and subsequently refunded by the 
Treasurer of the Observatory. It amounted to the $258.28 mentioned 
above. 

What antagonists for an honest man to contend against ! 

The first, fourth, fifth and seventh of the items brought up by the 
Accusers in their endeavor to make "an amount in any way compara- 
ble with the sum of $3800," (the Accusers, ingeniously availing 
themselves of a palpable typographical error in a portion of the Second 
Edition of the " Defence," write it $3000,) are thus clearly seen to have 
been fraudulently introduced. 

The two additional ones, named in the next paragraph, are fabrications. 

And the only " applications," since my removal to Albany, are thus 
Been to have been $824 — instead of "more than $3800." The ser- 
eral items are : 



320 

For clothing and casing piers, $390 00 

digging well, &c, 324 00 

galvanic battery, 110 00 

$824 00 

The first of these was "appropriated," yet owing to the obstacles 
thrown in my way it became necessary for me in protecting my own 
credit and the persons employed, to pay the entire amount myself. — ■ 
Of this, a part (chiefly for the clothing) was refunded, but the bill for 
casing was repudiated and left upon my shoulders. 

The item "for digging well, &c," was appropriated, but the amount 
was placed at the disposal of a sub-committee, not at mine. I had, 
from the necessity of the case, been compelled to have a deep well dug, 
and pipes laid; and the cost of this, $78.69 was refunded. None of 
the remaining amount passed through my hands. 

The third item was appropriated, but kept from me in the same way, 
so as to throw the expense upon me personally — though ultimately 
refunded. 

So that the sums actually refunded from the foregoing $824, are : 

For clothing and casing, $169 02 

well, &c, 78 69 

battery, 110 00 

$357 71 

It may be proper to add, that at the request of Mr. Be Witt, the 
Vice President of the Board, (whose name has been used to make up 
the Nine,) I superintended the cutting away of a hillock near the dwell- 
ing-house, and paid the bills. — The whole expense amounted to but a 
small sum, and was refunded without obstacle. 

124. Prof. Bache's Pledge. 

This subject has been fully considered in Part First of this Reply, 
where the unblushing falsehoods of the " Statement" on this subject 
are exposed. Yet I will add a few words here. 

The Accusers say, (p. 133:) 

" The ' pledge ' of Prof. Bache was to supply a Transit instrument for time, at 
a cost of $1500, to be mounted and used in the Dudley Observatory. This 
instrument was purchased in Europe by Dr. Gould, in redemption of this 
"pledge." That it was the instrument agreed to be furnished by Prof. Bache 
is sufficiently evident from the fact that a room in the Observatory was pre- 
pared for it at a cost of several thousand dollars; that it is now, and has been, 
for a year and a half past, at the Observatory; and that the freight and charges 
upon it, amounting to about $300, have been paid by the Trustees." 

It was absurd to venture upon a statement so easily refuted, but 
the falsehood was already ventured on page 9 of the Second Attack. 



321 

The letter of Prof. Bache shows that he explicitly stated the instru- 
ment was to be one of those used in the survey, and the Council stated 
only the •■ simple truth" when they averred that such a one had been 
" mounted in April, and has been in use on every clear night since 
that time." Though this instrument renders important service in 
connection with the meridian circle, it is one of those which Mr. 
Olcott has applied to the Secretary of the Treasury to have removed ! 

There are no less than six false statements here in a paragraph of 
eleven lines. The pledge of Prof. Bache was not to supply a transit 
instrument for time, at a cost of $1,500. The promise which he did 
give was conditional upon the procurement of a heliomcter for the 
proper use of which, the aid of a transit instrument is essential. 

The instrument purchased by me was not in redemption, therefore, 
of this or any other pledge. It was not the instrument agreed to be 
furnished. Nor does the fact that a transit room was prepared to 
mount it, prove this. The assertion that the transit room of the 
Observatory was prepared to receive this particular instrument is false 
and absurd ; as also is, in my belief, the assertion that the preparation 
of the room to fulfil its original and only design, was at a cost of 
several thousand dollars. As to the freight and charges, I myself 
paid the expenses of packing, in Germany, amounting to $77, and 
have the vouchers. The Trustees now boast of paying $300 freight 
and charges, — while the President actually applied to have the amount 
refunded by the Coast Survey \ and this, too, before his application for 
the removal of the instrmnent itself! And, farthermore, the Execu- 
tive Committee did actually appropriate a hundred and fifty dollars, 
contrary to my advice, for mounting it ! 

125. The Reckless Statement of the Council. 

Discoursing of the large Transit-instrument, on pages 133 and 134, 
the Accusers cite two passages from the " Defence," and add, concern- 
ing the Council, its authors : 

"And then in their summary, at the conclusion, they say: ' The falseness 
of the statements in regard to the large Transit instrument are shown.' 

" To say that such a statement is very 'loose,' will hardly do. It is very 
reckless." 

If the Council did not show in the " Defence " the falseness of all 
the statements in regard to the large transit, they certainly did show 
that many of them were false, so as abundantly to justify the summary 
that " the falseness of the statements in regard to the large transit 



322 

are shown." It seems quite impossible for the Accusers to adhere to 
truth. 

This wholesale mode of falsifying, which has been well described by 
one who knew such men, by the phrase, " nothing so easy as lying," is 
what gives point to the " Statement," the public not being able to con- 
ceive that men of decent positions could resort to such modes of defence 
or of assault. 

126. The Rejected Pier. 

This subject, so harped upon by Mr. Olcott and his fellow Accusers 
both in the Manifesto and in the "Statement," has been explained to 
some extent by the Scientific Council. (Defence, y3.y 

When the circle-piers arrived in September, 1856, soon after the 
Inauguration, I received a letter from Dr. Peters, at Albany, of which 
I translate a portion. 

From a Utter of Dr. Peters to me. 

Albany, 1856, Sept. 18. 
" I am in so great excitement that I would not disturb you with these lines, 
did I not hold it absolutely my duty. The canal boat with the cap stones and 
the three remaining meridian piers arrived yesterday. Yesterday afternoon, 
before I went up to the Observatory to my work, 1 looked at them hastily. 
But I was painfully overcome to find that both the circle piers longitudinally (in 
a vertical section north and south) were traversed by a crack, or rather a thin 
flint-like gangue, of the same nature as in some of the small pieces for the colli- 
mator piers, which you rejected for this reason. Early this morning I found 
Dr. Armsby, and told him that we could not venture to accept these two piers. 
He answered me that he had seen them, and had also been much disappointed, 
but that we should have have to accept them; that we could get no others in the 
whole country; that we should otherwise have to take granite, and that this 
could not be done within the year. He begged me almost imploringly to make 
no mention of these gangues, but to have the stones quietly put up. If, after 
the instrument was mounted, they should prove to be unfavorable, they might 
be pulled down again, and other stones put in ! . . . . But how great is 
now my indignation at finding, on more careful investigation, that one of the 
circle piers is patched at the base! A piece measuring one foot by six inches, 
and eight inches high, has been let in, fastened below by two iron bolts, and all 
this smeared over and concealed with clay, colored like the stone. I ask you 
now whether I shall let these stones be put up. How I wish you were here! 
Could you not return for a single day ? — otherwise I entreat you to give me 

peremptory instructions Dr. Armsby intreated me to write you 

nothing on the subject, but since I have seen this patched-in piece, I cannot be 
silent. J> 

I returned to Albany at once, examined the stone and found that 
besides containing serious sutures filled with a soft and friable material, 
they were also of a form not in conformity with the drawings which I 
had had made at Cambridge, and sent on to Dr. Armsby, as the basis 
of a contract. Still these were points which I should have let pass if 
desired by Dr. Armsby. The fatal defect was the broken base, bolted 
on with metal. To have accepted it would have been ruinous to 



323 

future precision in the observations. I so reported to tlic managers, 
protested against its acceptance, as not only non-conformable to con- 
tract, but fraudulent, — inasmuch as this serious and fatal defect had 
been most carefully concealed, — and I urged that the quarryman 
at Lockport, of whom I knew nothing, not even his name, should be 
made to furnish another in the place of this vicious one. 

Dr. Armsby informed me soon after, that the quarryman at Lock- 
port, had 'pronounced it impossible to obtain another of sufficient size ; 
but that Mr. Hague, (who had charge of matters of construction under 
the Managers), had undertaken to find proper stones at a much cheaper 
rate at Kingston, on the Hudson. — And a few days later a specimen 
of the Kingston stone was sent to me at Cambridge, and pronounced 
perfectly satisfactory. 

On the 10th of October, 1856, I wrote to Dr. Armsby thus : 

" I have a letter from Mr. Hague at Albany. He forwards a specimen of the 
Kingston stone, and seems not to have been to Lockport at all. The character 
of the stone is satisfactory to me; as for the advisability of going to another 
quarry, you and Mr. Olcott will judge. I understood that it was "decided that 
he should investigate matters at Lockport under any circumstances." 

" How is it that Turner had found out on Saturday, that we wanted other 
stones from Lockport ! If you do not look sharp you w ill have to pay double 
for the circle-piers. I am sorry Hague did not go on." 

On the 18th of October Dr. Armsby wrote me as follows: 

Albany, Oct. 18, 1850. 
"All seems to have gone on prosperously at the Observatory under Mr. 
Hague's supervision. He will inspect and credit all bills before Mr, Olcott or 
myself will put our names to them. He has made most favorable arrangements 
at Kingston for the speedy completion of the great piers. .... The bill 
from Lockport has arrived. It is $-1400 — and $1000 has been paid. The six 
stones, viz: 2 capstones and 4 piers, were to have been $750: the balance is 
for the 4 collimator piers and for transportation. We have only paid Turner 
$500 on account, so you perceive we have yet the power to save ourselves from 
loss. Do not trouble yourself about these matters, — we will look sharply about 
us, and not be imposed upon more than we deserve. I can hardly believe that 
Mr. Hague's expectations at Kingston will be realized in every particular as to 
time and expense, but we shall see. I have great confidence in his ability and 
integrity. How unfortunate that he was not here to have taken charge of the 
whole work from the commencement. We should have saved much time and 
money. But do not fret yourself about what cannot now be helped. We have, 
all of us, tried to do our best under the circumstances, and have no cause for 
self-reproach, or for reproaching each other. I have not seen Turner since you 
were in Albany, — or had any communication with him, except in the presence 
of Hague, and then simply to say that Mr. H. had been employed to take charge 
of everything. Mr. Turner knew, before you came to Albany, that the stones 
probably would not answer, and had been requested to write and sea if perfect 
ones could be obtained and guaranteed. I understood, as you did, at New 
York, that Mr. H. was to go to Lockport and investigate; but it seems that he 
did not feel authorized to do so until my return; or Mr. Olcott did not see fit to 
send him there, and his success at Kingston, and the arrival of the Lockport 
bill, seem to render this step now unnecessary." 

The reader will be astonished when I inform him that I have evi- 
dence in my possession, proving that Mr. Turner the agent of the 



324 

Managers went to Lockport, and was shown the vicious stone.— -That 
by the directions of Dr. Armsby he had the patch put on and con- 
cealed, all in the hope that I should never know it, — although it 
might destroy the usefulness of the instrument. For Dr. Armsby 
never cared that the Observatory should be serviceable to science ; 
he only wanted a show, which he and his co-trustees might exhibit 
to their friends.-— It was in order that I might not discover this 
trick that Mr. Hague did not go to Lockport, as it was promised he 
should, to examine if a better stone might not be found. — And I now 
know, that a stone of ample size was actually quarried in Lockport, and 
the fact reported to Dr. Armsby, at the very time that, according to his 
letters, and the Manifesto, and the " Statement," "the rich quarries 
of Lockport could not furnish the requisite supply." — And that, at the 
time when Armsby was assuring me they would " not be imposed 
upon more than they deserved," he had actually certified to the bill 
and procured its payment, — lest his own participance in the trick should 
be detected ! 

Such are the men against whose calumnies I must defend myself. 

The language of Mr. Olcott's Manifesto,— repeated on page 134 of 
the "Statement" — was as follows: 

" We .... too late discovered that Dr. Gould's superlative precision 
and transcendental exactness in ordinary matters are, in this respect, allied to 
his determination of longitude; that the cost " increases in a more than cubic 
ratio with the degree of precision." The piers must be built of stones so large, 
and so free from the least imperfections, that the rich quarries op Lock- 
port could not furnish the requisite supply. One of those stones, whose 
rejection cost us about $1000, now graces our grounds, a monument of our 
folly, in yielding to excessive particularity." 

In contrast with the words which I have emphasized, T will give 
extracts from two letters of Mr. Olcott himself. He wrote me 

1856, Oct. 31. "We have met with disappointment in the Kingston stone. 
Some flaw has been discovered, or some has happened to every stone gotten out. 
We may have to go to Lockport after all. Shall know to-day;" 

and 

1856, Nov. 10. " Mr. Hague has just called to say that he has succeeded in 
getting out one fine stone at Kingston, and expects another in a day or two, 
We also learn that two fine stones are on hand, and ready for us at Lockport, 
should they be wanted." 

The rejected stone forms indeed a prominent object in the Observa- 
tory inclosure and I have studiously avoided removing it from the spot 
where it was first deposited. There it is, exposed to the full inspection 
of every passer-by ; — a monument and an eloquent witness of the wick- 
edness of two of these Trustees in yielding to their inhuman malignity ; 
and of the weakness, if nothing worse, of the remaining seven in 



325 

yielding to the "influence" of Mr. Olcott; — yielding, altnotagh the 
motive might be to destroy the good name and usefulness of an 
honest man, who had never injured them or treated them unkind- 
ly, and whose only crime consisted in unwillingness to become a pliant 
tool, even though his refusal might entail all the consequences of a 
" Want of Harmony." 

127. The " Ingenious Crane." 

The Accusers, in their anxiety to lose no opportunity of putting me 
in the wrong, repeat in their "Statement" with some additions and 
expansions, the charges in relation to this subject which Mr. Olcott 
originated and which have already been fully answered in the "De- 
fence." Professor Bache, Peirce and Henry, have explained this sub- 
ject so clearly, that I will quote their words. The subject is one 
of which scientific men are alone competent to judge. The Council 
say ; (pp. 12 and 13) : 

" The apparatus for placing the great piers by which the meridian-circle is 
supported, we consider as being at once ingenious, economical and well con- 
trived. The success with which it has accomplished its work is the best demon- 
stration of its excellence. Stones weighing over seven tons each w r cre to be 
brought into place with a degree of accuracy with which an ordinary mason 
could not lay even a brick or corner stone. To talk of placing them properly 
without some such apparatus, is to utter ridiculous absurdity; and this case 
well illustrates the many practical difficulties with which Dr. Gould has had to 
contend, in his successful efforts to grapple with the difficult problem of mount- 
ing an instrument of such unexampled magnitude and delicacy It 

may be that masons offered to place the stones in position for one-quarter the 
cost of the machine. In so doing, they showed an ignorance of the difficulty or 
the problem; an ignorance perfectly excusable in them, although its adoption is 
not excusable in Mr. Olcott." 

The story of the plans being sent to Washington is not true. They 
were never sent there ; although had they been, it would have been no 
occasion for criticism but rather for commendation. How much the 
machine cost, I do not know ; but I do know that no less complicated 
arrangement would have done the work. The whole of the remarks on 
page 136 of the "Statement" is a series of untruths. The machine 
consists of a boom derrick, with an apparatus for rotating the stone 
and for moving it to or from the upright shaft* 

The Accusers say : 

" The Trustees, ignorant as they are, are not so ignorant as not to know that 
great precision is necessary in placing such piers. But they also suppose that 
to move them to their place and elevate them, is a very simple and easy matter. 
A competent mechanic could do it all.'* 

The object of this crane was to do the work of placing and adjust- 
ing; the mere raising and elevating could be done easily, — and was 
done by this same machine constructed for the purpose of adjusting 



326 

them! — The quibble in this passage will therefore be readily seen. 
The Accusers continue : 

" And then, to crown the whole, the entire front wall of both wings of the 
building had to be taken down to allow this machine to operate. " 

The front walls of both wings were already down ; not " to allow 
the machine to operate," but to permit the enlargement of the wings ! 
That this had been against my wish in the West wing or Transit room 
has been more than once mentioned ! 

128. The Shutters. 

The unwonted size of the meridian rooms, which must be provided 
with unbroken openings extending from the northern to the southern 
horizon, — the length being 35 feet, and the height about 14, — ren- 
dered it necessary to devise new and peculiar apparatus for opening 
and closing the shutters or trap doors of these openings. The weight 
of these shutters, their distance beyond reach, the necessity of their 
closing so tightly as to form a full protection against the weather, and 
especially against the penetration of snow, in the very bleak situation 
occupied by the Observatory, the importance of rapid opening and 
closing, of ready access to machinery, if desired, of neatness of 
appearance, all rendered the problem one of great difficulty. — Through 
the able assistance of Mr. Hodgins, all these difficulties were sur- 
mounted, and I have been fully satisfied with the success of the 
adopted plan. I do not think that any less costly plan could have 
accomplished the desired end. As to its expense I know nothing. 
The work was done (without a contract, I believe), by Mr. R. H. Pruyn, 
a Trustee. 

The inadequacy of construction of the dome has been already 
alluded to; and the fact mentioned that when the tinning was removed 
from the aperture through which the instrument must point, the struc- 
ture was found incapable of sustaining its own weight, — it having been 
braced by the strength of the roof tinning alone. Yet in their deter- 
mination to " crush" me, my Accusers say : 

" In 1857, — in the midst of the financial troubles of the country, — Dr. 
Gould directed the architect to prepare plans for flexible iron shutters — a thing, 
as the Trustees understand, unknown in any Observatory in the world. The 
plan has been executed. The shutters have been made, and now they are too 
heavy for the dome. A new dome must be built, at a cost of $3000 or more, 
or else the shutters which, with the machinery for opening and closing them, 
cost nearly $2000, must be lost." 

Thus these very men who in other places complain of my delay, now 
insinuate a censure that I had the plans for the dome shutters, pre- 



327 

pared " in the midst of the financial troubles of the country!" Tho 
work was going on at that, time ; — the plans for it had however been 
not only directed, but completed before the beginning of these financial 
troubles. — This work was taken up in its regular order, and in doing 
what I could in its behalf I was but complying with the request of tho 
Managers. 

The accusation that I improperly hurried the work upon the dome 
shutters — here only implied, — was broadly made in the Manifesto, as 
follows : 

" It should be borne in mind that the dome will not be used until the Heliom- 
eter is finished, and that some three or four years interest might have been 
saved by deferring this costly experiment until the dome was needed." 

And yet Mr. Olcott knew that the plan had been, to place in the 
dome the large telescope belonging to Hamilton College ; — which was 
to have been hired until the college should find means to provide a* 
clock and transit-instrument. 

This project was warmly adopted by Dr. Armsby, who often assured 
me that there would be no difficulty in its execution, — and our plans 
were based upon this expectation. For instance, Dr. Armsby wrote 
me, 1856, Nov. 8, to inquire whether I would have 

" Hodgins decide on the Heliometer piers, and go on at once with the cutting 
and placing, to be ready for the Hamilton College Equatorial ?" 

So, too, 

1856, Nov. 12. " The Hamilton College Instrument can doubtless be had if 
desired." 

1857, April 20. " The Hamilton College Instrument can come, without one 
doubt, if we want it." 

It will be noticed that the price of the new dome, (for the need of 
which I am of course presented as to blame,) is here put down as 
$3,000 or more. My letter printed in the " Correspondence," 
states that Mr. Hodgins had reported the probable cost at between 
$1,500 and $2,000, probably about $1,800. This sum was also named 
by me in the private letter to Mr. Olcott, which the Accusers garble 
on page 131. — Their various and mutually inconsistent statements as 
to its expense have been exposed in $ 122. 

On page 69 the Accusers say that the original dome had cost $2000. 
But in the extract just given from page 137, they say it had cost $3000. — 
What financial inconsistencies for a man who has passed his life in a bank ! 

As to the flexible iron shutters, this happy thought was suggested by 
Mr. Hodgins, and after study of the subject fully approved by me. — They 
were, as stated by the Accusers, " unknown in any Observatory in the 



328 

world." — If constructed and erected according to the plans they would 
certainly have been attended with brilliant success. 

As to their price, said by the Accusers to be " nearly $2000" — I do 
not know whether the statement is correct or not. They were furnished 
by the same Trustee who did the other iron-work for the Observatory. 
But I do know that an offer was made by a responsible firm in New 
York, — who wrote on the 29th of July, 1857, after full inspection of the 
plans, that they would 

" undertake the job for the sum of one thousand and fifty dollars. It requires 
very nice work and perfect fitting and adjustment. We would have to person- 
ally superintend our men at Albany in putting it up. We include the shutters 
and all the shafting, gear, wheels, chains, pulleys, weights, &c, necessary to 
the perfect working of these shutters. We would like to commence it at once." 

I think this subject of the shutters may now be considered as disposed 
of. If " the new dome must be built" " or else the shutters" " with the 
machinery for opening and closing them" " must be lost," — how can this 
be made an accusation against me when the faulty dome which could not 
sustain itself, (let alone any superincumbent weight,) was built in 1853, 
two years or more before I ever saw the Dudley Observatory ! 

129. The Chronograph. 

We find on pages 137 and 138 of the " Statement" the following lan- 
guage : 

" Chronographs were deemed necessary for the Observatory. Such an instru- 
ment, the object of which is to record the exact time of making an observation, 
had been invented by the Messrs. Bond of Cambridge; but an instrument of 
their invention would not do for Dr. Gould, although in use by the Coast Sur- 
vey. He must have something new. He accordingly set an artist of Boston at 
work to make a Chronograph, containing a new regulating principle. The 
experiment was a failure. It cost the Observatory 



A Chronograph is an instrument for determining and recording the 
instants of time at which a phenomenon occurs. The more perfect the 
instrument, the more accurate will be the observation. Such an instru- 
ment is now considered indispensable in most first class observatories. 

The one employed by the Coast Survey was not invented by the 
Messrs. Bond. Those gentlemen have however added to it an ingenious 
arrangement called a " spring governor" by which the motion of the cyl- 
inder is rendered nearly uniform. Absolute uniformity is very desirable 
and I consider that it was my bounden duty to try to attain perfection in 
this as in every instrument intended for the Observatory. Mr. Farmer, a 
very eminent artist, undertook with my sanction to construct a still better 
instrument than any which had been made. In this he was not successful, 
as I had hoped and anticipated ; but the experiment was far from being a 



329 

failure; and the instrument is valuable and useful. Its cost was $252, and 
not $750 as the Accusers allege. 

130. Report to Council again. 

The subject of my Report of 1857, Dec. 21, to the Scientific Council, — 
the sneers and misstatements concerning which on pages 51 and 52 of the 
"Statement" have been already considered in §70, p. 262 of this Detailed 
Refutation, — is brought up again by the Accusers on p. 138. I have 
nothing more to say about it than is given in § 70. 

The Accusers here say of this Report : 

" The communication seems to have been made with a view to put the Coun- 
cil in possession of Dr. Gould's version of the origin of the difficulties which 
had led to his dismissal, and the appointment of Dr. Peters." 

It will be remarked, however, that this communication was presented 
to the Scientific Council 1857, Dec. 21 ; that no " dismissal" of any kind 
had then taken place ; that none was even hinted at until 1858, June 4 ; 
and that Peters's alleged, but unreal, appointment as an observer occurred 
1858, Jan. 9, three weeks subsequent to the presentation of this report. 

If the ground is to be now taken that the secret authority, given by 
Mr. Olcott to Dr. Peters to remain in the Observatory after 1857, Dec. 
1st, was a "dismissal" of myself by the Trustees, — how will the 
Accusers explain Mr. Olcott's six or eight applications to me during De- 
cember, that /would appoint Peters an observer? Or will they deny it 
altogether? In the latter case how will they explain Mr. Olcott's letter 
of propositions to Prof. Dache 1857, Dec. 19 ? 

The question as to how I could undergo dismissal, (p. 138) when I was 
not in office, (p. 146) except as a member of the Council, I leave for Judge 
Harris to decide. 

131. The Averment of the Trustees and the Certificates. 

Four pages (140-144) are devoted by the Accusers to an attempt to 
prove that I was the person responsible for the extravagance and reckless 
expenditures. And if they have succeeded in presenting a tolerably plausi- 
ble 'prima facie case, still I solemnly assert that their declarations 
and allegations on this head, like those in other respects, are false and 
calumnious. 

They say (p. 141) : 

" The Trustees, averring that all the expenditures at the Observatory, from 
the time Dr. Gould became connected with it, were made under his immediate 
direction, or with his concurrence and approbation, proceed to give what they 
regard as the most satisfactory evidence to support their own statements, and 
disprove those of Dr. Gould;" 

22 



330 

and then give letters signed by Messrs. Wm. Eqdgins, \Y. W. Hague, 

B. F. Smith, the A.rohiteot and Superintendents ; and from one firm of 
oarpenters, " Boardman and Waggoner," and one of masons, "W. and 
D. Turner,*' out of those who were employed upon the work. 

A Slight inspection of the certificates obtained from the Carpenters and 
Masons, and paraded in the tl Statement," will show that they literally 
amount to nothing. They declare that they received instructions from 
the Architects, never from me. It is true, as one of the characteristic 
trioks of the Managers, that words are put into the mouths of these unsus- 
pecting persons, which import that tho Architects received and followed 
"instructions from Dr, Gould. " But that was a matter of which these 
men neither knew, nor pretended to know, anything. What we have, then, 
from these respectable mechanics, and all ire have, On the matter in issue, 
is that they followed the directions of the Architects. AVe shall soon sec 
what the testimony of the 'Architects' amounts to. I need only refer 
here, as showing how easily honest workmen may be drawn into material 
error, to a sentence or two in the letter of Mr. llodgins which is quoted 
below. Referring to the general statements of his former Certificate fur- 
nished to the Trustees, he says : 

" 1 was far from desiring to say that no work was dene which was net under 
Such [his] supervision. For 1 am oi' course aware that / was not the only per- 
son who gave orders /e the builders, <$*<;." 

[ have italicised a tew words. 

L32, The Architects' Certificates. 

The Accusers present certificates from Messrs. llodgins, Hague and 

Smith. From the first I submit the following letter: 

A in ant, August 30th, 1858, 
Dear Sir — In compliance with your wishes, 1 cheerfully give the explanation 
you ask tor of my letter io the Trustees of the Hudley Observatory, dated Janu- 
ary ISth; that letter being written in justification of myself against supposed 

imputations. 

I did net intend io imply that the authorization given by yen, to the changes 
in the west wing of the Observatory, preceded those changes; for 1 well remem- 
ber the annoyance which the affair gave you; and that your directions concerning 

the subsequent arrangements were made to accommodate themselves to the 
demolition oi' the walls, which had already taken place, against your wishes. 
It would have been necessary to take down some portion oi' the wall, to intro- 
duce the piers, but not perhaps just then. 

And while 1 endeavored, to the best oi' my ability, to carry out your wishes 
and planSj and while (as stated in my letter) the plans o\' all work done under 
my immediate supervision were Submitted to you. — I was far from desiring to 
say that no work was done which was not under such supervision. For 1 am 
of course aware that 1 was not the only person who cave orders to the builders, 
&Q, And in answer to your other inquiries, I would add that your plans from 
the beginning seemed to be based upon the most rigid economy compatible with 
a due regard to the proper execution oi' the work; and that you uniformly 
urged on me such economy in the designs you asked me to prepare. 



331 

The crane for placing the piers was a necessary contrivance, as acknowledged 
at the time, by others besides yourself. And ft, as well as the machinery for 
the shutters, won', in my judgement, well adapted for their respective purposes, 
an<l by no means needlessly complicated. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very obediently your sen am , 
Dr. B. A. Gould, Jr., WILLIAM HODGINS. 

Dudley Observatory, ./Ibum/. 

Mr. Hague is not now resident in this vicinity. Ho is represented in 
the " Statement 11 as "Architect and Engineeh." 1 supposed him 

to 1)0 merely :ni " OVerseef," or " clerk of WOrks," according to Mr 
Oloott's letter, of 1856, Nov. . r >, which said that 

" Mr. Hodgins will, as far as practicable, pass his orders through Mr. Hague, 

and he will see t<> their execution. He is not an architect, and will in no way 
interfere with, or vary the plans." 

He was appointed by Dr. Afmsby with my foil concurrence, based 

upon Or. Armsby's representations. He was removed by Dr. Armsby, 
with my approval, — also based upon such representations. Farther than 

the expression of this assent, 1 had no part in his dismissal ; although 1 
understand that Dr. Armsby has stated to him and his friends that it 

took plaee through my instrumentality, and has thus excited hostility 

to me on their part. 
Mr. Hague's statement is this: 

" Nothing was done hy me, or by my orders, or Under my supervision, without 
directions from Dr. Gould, nearly all of which were in writing, and copies of 
which are still in my possession, except in a single instance, " &C. 

Now it must be observed that the period of time covered by the service 

of Mr. Bodgins, as superintending architect, and Mr. Hague as overseer, 

and to which their certificates relate, began in the summer of 1856, and 

ended in March, 1857, when Mr. Smith oame in to the work. A few 

extracts from letters written during, or in reference to this period, will 

go far towards clearing up the inystilication which has been thrown around 

the subject : 

From letters of Mr. Olcott. 

L856, Nov. 5. " Dr. Ajmsby knows my opinion of Turner, and 1 consented 
to the Changes as I could not credit the accounts without some responsible per- 
son to superintend and certify to their accuracy ." 

L857, Mar. 5. "The carpenter, Boairdman, sends in a bill longer than the 

moral law, and not half as good, for ahout $2400, on which he has been paid 

all but $561." 

From my letters to Dr. Armsby. 

L856, Nov. 2. " 1 have felt, so much and so strongly thai things were not in 
a good way (hat I had almost, worked myself up to offer myself as Director 

until the buildings should be entirely completed, on condition that it be gratu- 
itously, but with bntire oontbol. But I cannot, do it . It would be frenzy 
(o add to the already over accumulated burdens saddled upon my back, for 



332 

three or four months at least, and I do not think there is any inducement which 
could take me willingly from here during the rest of the year; for these burdens 
must be shuffled off. 

1 ' But let me entreat you not to be rash in your steps ; remember that you 
want a scientific, judiciously devised structure to meet wants only understood 
by astronomers and educated engineers to whom astronomers may have made 
these wants understood. The masons might build a Parthenon or a Capitol; 
but it would not be an Observatory. Any mason, any carpenter, any stone- 
cutter will answer; but there must be intellect and knowledge to guide them."* 

1856, Nov. 13. "As to the recommended grading of the grounds, . . . 
I fear I am hardly in a position to give any advice of value. . . . Suppos- 
ing economy to be an important consideration, and that other demands were 
much more pressing, I had always delayed the formation of any plans when the 
subject came up in my mind. Any necessary grading should precede the build 
ing of the fence; the location of the fence precede the grading; — and this location 
is assumed to be based upon some general plan and system for the grounds, 
buildings present and prospective, &c; so that, not understanding these funda- 
mental plans, I should be quite adrift in giving advice as to details." 

From my letter to Mr. Olcott, 1857, March 10. 

" How it was possible for Mr. Hague to set all instructions, both written and 
oral, so utterly at defiance, surpasses my comprehension. 

" The present overhauling of accounts is, like the " actual cautery," far from 
agreeable, but eminently salutary in all respects. From Mr. Smith I have as 
yet heard nothing, but shall expect some information very soon as to the state 
of affairs." 

These extracts are utterly at variance with the assumption of the 
Accusers, and undeniably contradict their assertions and their pretended 
proofs, " that all the expenditures at the Observatory, from the time Dr. 
Gould became connected with it, were made under his immediate direction. " 

After the dismissal of Mr. Hague, I exerted myself, at the request of 
the Managers, to obtain the services of some competent man as overseer. 
It was at this time that I undertook the experiment of keeping everything 
under my sole control and direction, — an experiment soon abandoned in 
despair. All my efforts failing, Mr. Olcott proposed the employment of 
Mr. B. F. Smith, to which of course I assented. He is a carpenter, 
who has undertaken the business of a house "architect," and has the 
reputation of honesty and of fair judgement to the extent of his limited 
education and knowledge of his profession. He was placed in charge of 
the details of the work, upon condition that no variation should be made 
from approved plans, that nothing should be done for which he had not 
written directions, and that he should report to me weekly at Cambridge. 
His duties began 1857, March 1, — and ceased at some time unknown to 
me; but he was still in service in April, 1858. Repeated instances of 
disobedience of instructions, and disregard of the conditions upon which 
he was appointed, led on my part to strong remonstrance with him,, and 
to complaints to the Managers. 

* J« connection with this see my letter to Mr. Olcott, 1856, Nov. 3, (p. 2G3.) 



333 

In June, 1857, 1 became satisfied that my plans were systematically 
overridden by the Managers in their love of external show and glare. Dis- 
covering this, I soon dropped all communication with Smith, and all pre- 
tence of giving orders. His last report to me bears date 1857, June 20, 
and my last instructions to him 1857, July 10. He was in the service 
of the Trustees eight or nine months after that. 

Notwithstanding the strong assertions in his published certificate to 
Mr. Olcott, Mr. Smith has on several occasions, acknowledged his disre- 
gard of orders, and confessed that Messrs. Olcott and Armsby were in 
the habit of overruling my instructions. This can readily be proved by 
ear-witnesses, — whom, however, I do not wish to drag unnecessarily 
before the public. It is no disparagement to Mr. Smith, who makes no 
pretence to education, to say that he was totally incapable of drawing 
up a letter in the finished form of that published under his name ; — and 
I believe that it is owing to his want of acquaintance with the proper 
meaning and force of language that he was persuaded to give his signa- 
ture to a statement so utterly at variance with the true state of the case. 
I have given Mr. Smith an opportunity to correct his own errors in a 
manner which would have been just to me, and not discreditable to him. 
After taking the matter into consideration for more than a week, he has 
finally declined to give any satisfactory certificate, and I am thus left to 
the necessity of vindicating myself in my own way. 

The substance and point of Mr. Smith's testimony i3 found in the fol- 
lowing sentences of his certificate, [p. 142 of the " Statement."] 

"Nearly every expenditure incurred at the Observatory since my connection 
with it, has been authorized by Dr. Gould." 

" All of the work on the Observator}'- from the time I entered on my duties 
as Architect and Superintendent until the present time, has been done by the 
authority and under the direction of Dr. Gould." 

And in regard to the House, speaking of a personal interview, he 
says : 
" I understood him to give a distinct approval, and directions to go on at once. 5 ' 

Now in the first place, it must be observed that Mr. Smith himself 
makes two not unimportant suggestions and admissions : 1st, He admits 
unspecified work done, not under my direction, and vaguely suggests 
that $100 might cover the amount; and 2nd, He admits that I had 
nothing whatever to do with building the gas-house. These admissions 
are in his certificate; I shall show greater ones still in his own letters. 
Before doing this, however, I must refer the reader to the fact, so often 
alluded to, and to which Mr. Hodgins now certifies (page 328), that the 
whole change of the West wing of the Observatory was not only not 



334 

made under my direction, but made against my will and my earnest remon- 
strances. That I acquiesced in the change, when I could not help myself, 
hardly affords ground for charging me with the responsibility of the 
expenses incurred by this folly. 

I will now present a few brief extracts from Mr. Smith's letters to me — 
only remarking that while I change no words, I make some necessary 
literal corrections of his manuscript : 

1857, March 7. " We must start right, or we are at sea with our compass. 
Mr. Olcott showed me a long bill of items of Mr. Boardman, over two thousand 
dollars, for which he said there was no vouchers, and he could not tell anything 
about it." 

March 31. "In looking into the situation of everything, I find I am more 
at the mercy of two or three individuals than I was aware of when I wrote you. 
. . . . Therefore, you see Pruyn, Lansing and Boardman has the advan- 
tage of me. I must either pay them their price, or do worse. I think I shall 
have to do so." 

May 4. "I want you to understand that I shall go according to my written 
instructions from you, so far as it is possible for me to do with the advice of 
Olcott and Armsby, in such minutias as making the road, &c." 

May 30. "In relation to the building [the dwelling house] I have done as 
you desired. I have laid the whole subject before the Trustees, [Messrs. Olcott 
and Armsby I suppose] at a meeting appointed for that purpose, and after due 
consideration they have decided to change the location of the house 

" The Trustees have somewhat changed the plan of the building; first in the 
location; second in the material, which I think will be of brick. A few days 
will settle which." 

June 30 "Nothing has transpired this week of importance, 

except I have made a contract for the gas-house, and the work is commenced. 
We set it in the same place that was excavated for the house last fall." 

I shall now add a few extracts from my own letters, which cannot fail 
to show how utterly destitute of truth is the allegation of the Accusers — 
page 141, that "all the expenditures at the Observatory from the time 
Dr. G-ould became connected with it, were made under his immediate 
direction, or with his concurrence and approbation." As a single item 
in this sweeping charge ; — I was no more responsible for the dwelling 
house than for any other house built in Albany in the same period. 

Mr. B. F. Smith: 

Dear Sir — I have indirectly heard, what I trust may prove to be erroneous, 
that you have included the construction of the floor and platforms of the Circle- 
room in your arrangements with the carpenters. By reference to my letter of 
instructions, of Feb. 27, you will see that they are to form the subject of 
special and later directions. 

And in general, I will repeat my caution relative to beginning no part of the 
work on the building without written and special instructions. A close 
adherence to this rule is the only security for the work going on correctly in 
my absence. Very truly yours, 

Cambridge, 1857, March 27. B. A. GOULD, Jr. 

To Dr. Armsby, 1857, April 13. 

"Mr. Smith always says he shall not do anything without orders, but if he 
has contracted for the floor and platform of the W. room, or has plastered the 



335 

E. room, what confidence can we have in promises. They are no great affairs, 
but there are better ways for the Observatory to spend even $100, than in doing 
what must be done over again." 

To Mr. Olcott, 1857, May 20. 

"From Mr. Smith I had the first of his promised weekly reports. He also 
sent the new plans he had been making for the dwelling-house, which are quite 
different from the former. I have, in my want of knowledge of these matters, 
taken the liberty of throwing the decision upon the Executive Committee, and 
sent him the list of my objections. But, as these relate merely to common 
matters of convenience and practical points, and I have given the whole grounds 
of my objections at length, — I thought you would excuse me for eluding the 
trouble and responsibility of deciding. If some one of you gentlemen will take 
charge of it, and decide what the plan shall be, Mr. S. can pass on immediately 
to the specifications and contract 

"And now that he [Smith] is in the traces, I know of nothing to prevent 
him from carrying on various parts of the work simultaneously. Complication 
is evidently a great trouble and difficulty to him ; but I think we have succeeded 
in simplifying everything to its utmost. Perhaps when you see him it might 
be possible to let him understand that it is not contrary to his interest to hurry 
up the workmen, but that you are disposed to pay for work done, according to 
its amount, rather than according to the time it takes." 

To Dr. Peters, 1857, Jane 17. 

"When he [Smith] plastered the east wing, contrary to my written orders, the 
gas-pipes were put in. I think that Hague did it, but only know two things : 1st, 
that they were paid for; and 2d, that they were put in the wrong place. . . . 
" Smith has no authority to do anything of any kind in the whole Observa- 
tory, without special instructions and precise written directions. He may make 
chalk-marks, but if he puts up the platforms on his own responsibility, and 
wrong, he ought to have to pay the bills." 

The Accusers' policy of endeavoring to complicate the questions at 
issue by introducing petty matters of detail, finds here an admirable 
field. The eighteen letters of instruction which I wrote Mr. Smith 
between Feb. 27 and July 10, and my five or six personal interviews 
with him during the same interval, furnish an uninterrupted sequence 
of cautions to do nothing without orders, and of attempts to press him to 
a proper supervision and prompt execution of the work laid out for him. 
The personal interviews were on his part long-drawn apologies and 
expressions of regret at his acknowledged short comings. 

The Accusers remark, p. 140 : 

" Neither Dr. Gould, nor the gentlemen who defend him, have ventured to 
specify a single case, in which Dr. Armsby or an}>- other person has directed any 
expenditure to be made contrary to his instructions, or against his wishes." 

It thus becomes desirable for me to specify a few of the items. 

Messrs. Hawley and Aubin having generously given a complete gas- 
making apparatus, a showy edifice was erected to contain it under* T) 
Armsby's directions and Smith's supervision, — at an expense, the interest 
of which I believe would have supplied the Observatory and Dwelling 
house with gas forever, — the whole actually without my official knowl- 
edge. 



336 

The site and plans of the dwelling house, and its style of construc- 
tion, were in opposition to my known plans and wishes. 

A complete dwelling was constructed in the basement of the Observa- 
tory building for the family of a former servant of Dr. Armsby ; — the 
same persons who were continued in possession by the Executive Com- 
mittee until May 1, — notwithstanding my known wishes to the contrary, 
and the known interference with the scientific operations. 

From the beginning almost to the end, the work upon the West wing, 
(costing, the Accusers say, [p. 133,] "several thousand dollars") was 
done without instructions from me, and contrary to my known judgement. 
In this however, as in all other cases, it was my endeavor to adapt my 
course to circumstances, — and in the same way that, when the walls were 
torn down contrary to my remonstrances, I prepared, by request of Dr. 
Armsby, plans for the rebuilding ; so when the room was lathed and plas- 
tered, and the floor and platforms laid for the sake of immediate exhibi- 
tion to visiters, — though contrary to my orders, since it precluded the 
introduction of sundry devices for convenience and elegance, for which 
special directions were needed, — I contented myself with oral complaints, 
and with the abundant apologies and protestations which I received. 

In the same way an expensive fence was erected entirely around the 
Observatory grounds by Dr. Armsby's directions, although for want of 
proper precautions, it is far from being upon the correct boundary line. 

An expensive operation for " sloping the ground off beautifully" was 
undertaken by Dr. Armsby in the spring of 1857, contrary to my known 
wishes, and ended in the destruction of the only road which afforded a 
ready access from the city. Two or three weeks subsequent to the ope- 
ration, Dr. Armsby sent me the not unexpected news "the new road 
has settled down six feet perpendicular." Apart from this destruction 
of the only convenient access for vehicles, the expense entailed must 
have amounted to a very considerable sum. 

I might go on with details to show that the work within the Observa- 
tory building was as little in conformity with my instructions as that 
which I have already specified, — but it is unnecessary to fill up space 
with long lists of petty matters. I think that I have shown the total 
falsity of the sweeping and slanderous allegation of my Accusers that 

" all the expenditures at the Observatory, [over $ 60,000, p. 81,] from the time 
Dr. Gould became connected with it, were under his immediate direction, or with 
his concurrence and approbation." 

For the rest, suffice it to say that nearly, if not quite, half of all the 

work done in the Observatory-building, and almost the whole of that 

net within this building, was either not conformable to instructions, or 



337 

was commenced without instructions ; while more important, but less 
showy, work was left to wait. 

133. The Dwelling House. 

Inasmuch as a dwelling house was built, it must of course be made the 
basis of some accusations against me. These seem to be the following : 

1. That I did not like the plan or site, and have complained of it. 

2. That I had plans and specifications drawn in Boston, after my own 
ideas. 

3. That these were so badly contrived that they were necessarily 
rejected. 

4. That the new plan was ' submitted to me, and discussed room by 
room,' and received my approval ; — my allegation to the contrary being 
untrue. 

To these I reply, 

1. That the charge of disapproving the site and the alterations of the 
plan, is true, although I did not make many complaints, inasmuch as the 
faults were past remedy before I knew them, excepting those which I have 
myself endeavored to remedy during my occupancy ; and, although my 
complaints were not of an ill-natured or censorious kind, toward the Mana- 
gers, but had reference to the master-builder, Mr. Smith. That the house 
is badly built, and badly placed, is evident on the most cursory examina- 
tion. — And I believe it cost from one-third to one-half more than it might. 

2. That this is correct, the attendant trouble having been taken by me, 
at Mr. OlcotVs request. I recommended a cheap and inconspicuous 
dwelling, built not for show, but for use and comfort, at a cost of about 
$4000. Plans of this kind were prepared by an architect in Boston, 
because I could be readily consulted there, — and were sent to Albany 
with my approval, but rejected by Dr. Armsby, because not sufficiently 
ornamental. He returned them with the request that they be made more 
showy and expensive. This was done, but the Managers 'were dissuaded 
from these plans by Mr. Smith, who thought he could prepare better ones. 

3. The architect may speak for himself: 

Boston, Dec. 31st, 1858. 
Dr. B. A. Gould, Jr., Director of the Dudley Observatory-. 

Dear Sir — Understanding that you wish a written repetition of my observations 
concerning the letter of Mr. B. F. Smith, contained in the "Statement of the 
Trustees of the Dudley Observatory." I would therefore say: that my '' plans and 
specifications," so far from being il inaccurate" and not to be comprehended ;; in 
a clear manner." were, — although constructed as simply and economically as possi- 
ble, according to your request, — made with more than usual care and detail; and, 
as you may remember, were actually estimated upon by two responsible Boston 
mechanics, who found in them none of those incomprehensibilities which would 
seem to have discouraged " several of the best builders" of Albany. 

Yours, respectfully, 

W. HENRY AYINSLCHY. 



338 

4. Mr. Smith's memory and my own differ. He showed me some plans, 
to which, on a very cursory examination, I objected as not meeting the 
wants of the case. The whole of the interview lasted less than five min- 
utes; and after returning to Cambridge I sent him my objections in a 
letter, referring him, however, to the Managers for their decision. They 
adopted his plans, and I was glad to be freed from the responsibility. 

134. Letters to Mr. Olcott and Dr. Armsby. 
To convict me of double dealing or insincerity, the Accusers intro- 
duce on page 145, the falsified extract previously given at the top of 
page 41 of the " Statement." This is exposed in § 51 of this Refutation. 
They also repeat an allusion to the subject of acknowledged " personal 
courtesies," a matter which I have discussed in § 49 ; and they refer 
again to the so-called " gratuity," as a contribution towards my " pre- 
tended loss in the publication of the Astronomical Journal," — a topic 
which I have disposed of in § 50. 

135. The Directorship and Professorship in Columbia College again. 

On pages 146 and 147 my implacable and unscrupulous Accusers make, 
amid many sneers, the following assertions or intimations : 

That the " office of Director " " had not been tendered " to me. 

That I had unsuccessfully applied for a Professorship in Columbia College 
with a salary of $ 5000. 

That the allusions of the Council to the intensity of personal spite which 
would sever me from the Meridian Circle ordered by me, according to my own 
plans, and mounted by me, chiefly at my own expense, — were an "affectation " 
of "romance and sentimentality." 

That the Council's declaration that " ' Dr. Gould is after Mrs. Dudley, the 
principal contributor to the Observatory,' by the devotion of his time, his tal- 
ents, his thoughts and his labor," was untrue. 

That my colleagues of the Council were unjust judges. 

These several points have I think already met with all the discussion 

they need. 

136. Olcott Comet Again. 

The detection of the telescopic Comet, 1857, TV., — the ridiculous and 
self-abasing, although successful, attempt of Dr. Peters to persuade Mr. 
Olcott that his name could be attached to it in sober earnest, and all the 
attendant sneers, have been sufficiently considered by me in § 52. The 
garbled extract from my letter is here repeated, p. 149, as also the false 
statement concerning the nomenclature, and the intimation that I was 
actuated by ignoble motives, when I 

"felt constrained to strike out the name of Olcott, and call, it the e .Fourth 
Comet of 1857.'" 

The misstatements have been exposed ; the sneers may pass for what 
they are worth. 



339 

137. General Pruyrfs Drills. 

This matter is too small to dwell on farther. The whole facts have been 

already narrated. The Accusers say, — 

"Dr. Gould, when settling for the work on the piers, refused to allow the 
charge for the tools." 

It was not u when settling for the work on the piers." The bill was 
sent in long in advance of any other, — and was immediately, and as I think 
properly, inclosed to Mr. Olcott, who was then.President, with inquiries as 
to my proper course. The letter was at once seized upon by Mr. Olcott 
as a weapon against me, was immediately exhibited by him to the indi- 
vidual concerned, and formed the incentive for Mr. Pruyn to visit the 
Observatory a day or two after, on May 21, and pick that quarrel with my 
assistants which was made the pretext for the insulting resolutions of 
May 22 ; — the resolutions which called forth my reply of May 31, on 
which the attempted " dismissal" was in fact based. 

Mr. Pruyn's bill for the almost worthless tools was $103. The work 
was easily done with tools from another foundry, at the price of $15. 

138. "Inadvertence" of the Secretary. 

One of the illustrations of the annoyances by the Secretary of the 
Trustees, Dr. Armsby, is mentioned by the Council in the "Defence." 
§ 13, where they rebut Mr. Olcott's false charge of " Gross and Deliber- 
ate Insults" and prefer a counter-charge against the President and Secre- 
tary of the Board. 

The Accusers say " The facts are as follows," and then proceed to a 
misstatement as usual. 

The appropriations, so often alluded to heretofore, had been passed by 
the Executive Committee, March 5, at their meeting convened upon my 
application, and the only one at which I was present. Notwithstanding 
several applications I did not obtain a certificate of these appropriations 
from the Secretary until March 9, — and even then the authority for casing 
the piers, and bringing the Calculating Engine into use was omitted. 
Under ordinary circumstances the fact, that I had heard the resolutions 
passed would have sufficed ; but in this case I had been put upon my 
guard by previous occurrences. I finally applied on the 9th to Mr. Olcott 
for an official notice, and my worst fears were confirmed on receiving Dr. 
Armsby 's communication of the same day ; for every one of the four reso- 
lutions as sent differed from those which I had heard passed, in some way 
calculated to occasion me annoyance. 

I made no allusion to this fact to Mr. Olcott ; but wrote him a note the 
next morning upon another matter, and added the two paragraphs on 



340 

this subject which the Accusers have given on pages 153 and 154. — At 
night the supplemental letter of Dr. Armsby was received, containing 
these two resolutions of appropriation. And it is almost needless to say 
that these two were also changed from the form in which I can testify 
that I heard them passed. 
As the Council truly said, — 

" Such an omission by a Secretary might be called by a less mild term than 
inadvertence." 

These letters may be found in the " Correspondence" pages 18, 19. 
I will add the Accusers' version : 

" The facts are as follows: On the 9th, in the afternoon, the Secretary sent 
copies to Dr. Gould of certain resolutions passed at a meeting three days previ- 
ous, at which Dr. Gould was present, but omitted accidentally two resolutions 
also passed at the same meeting, relative to the Calculating Machine and Pier 
casings. On the morning of the 10th, discovering the omission, he sent a copy 
of the resolutions and an explanatory note to the Director." 

It may not be out of place to add that some such delay generally 
occurred in transmitting any votes which it was important for me to know. 
It has been mentioned that I was not asked to attend the meetings of the 
Executive Committee. — On one occasion nineteen days elapsed between the 
passage of an appropriation and any information on the subject being offi- 
cially or unofficially given to me. 

139. The Meridian Circle, — Dr. Brtinncnv. 
The Accusers on pages 154-156, engage in a labored effort to prove 
with the assistance of Dr. Briinnow of Ann Arbor, that I am not merely 
entitled to no credit for the Meridian Circle, but 

" A bold, and, as the Trustees believe, a dishonest attempt has been made, 
to have credit awarded to Dr. Gould, in respect to this splendid instrument, to 
which he is not entitled." 

The history and peculiarities of the Meridian circle have been made the 
subject of full discussion in the First Part of this Reply. Perhaps it may 
be desirable to repeat such of the points there set forth as are in opposi- 
tion to this passage of the " Statement." 

I did not go to Europe at my own instance. I did pay a considerable 
part of my expenses. I combined as far as possible the best features of 
the instruments which I had seen, and added others which were novel. It is 
unpleasant to have to speak of one's self in this way, but when such a false 
assault is made, the only mode of meeting it is by examining the particulars 
and showing their falsity. I gave minute directions to the makers and 
corresponded constantly relative to their execution. As soon after the 
instrument was received as means were furnished me, the preparations for 
mounting began, and at the very time when the Accusers assert "it lay 



341 

in its box," the Scientific Council actually saw it in its place, between the 
piers, and witnessed the movements of its reversal ! 

The Accusers say, sneeringly, of my order for this instrument : 

"It has never been pretended that he gave any specific directions to the 
makers, as to any particular improvement, that he, in the exercise of his genius, 
had conceived. So far as the Trustees are able to learn, the only directions 
given were, that the instrument should contain every known improvement." 
(p. 155.) 

These men talk of its containing "every known improvement," as 
though the instrument were like a house or household apparatus, — to 
which some patent " modern improvement" is continually added. They 
either do not, or will not, understand that, in general, each new instru- 
ment of this class differs from its predecessor ; and that those variations 
which are deemed improvements by one astronomer may easily find 
disfavor with another. In their application of the words, — a "known 
improvement" is nonsensical, since by an " improvement" in an instru- 
ment we mean something not previously "known." 

Before leaving America I told Mr. Olcott that I would be glad to 
introduce many peculiarities into the new instrument, but that I could 
not assume the responsibility without express authorization. This was 
immediately given ; — and my letters to him and Dr. Armsby, from 
Europe, bear constant witness to the thought and study devoted to this end. 

Even in the letter to Mr. Olcott, from which the Accusers quote on page 
10, — a letter ten pages long, written from Berlin, 1855, Oct. 23, 1 gave 
a long account of the new principles which I had determined to have 
introduced, and of the difficulties with which I had to contend. I 
mentioned the long list of proposed changes, the warm sympathy of 
Professors Argelander and Encke, which had led them to give much 
of their valuable time to criticism of my plans, and the long interviews 
and discussions which I had with Mr. Martins, the artist. 

In his letter of 1855, Nov. 12, informing me of the reception of this, 
Dr. Armsby wrote back : 

" Nothing has pleased us so much as the zeal for new and improved appli- 
ances and modifications which you are manifesting, with so much hope and 
enthusiasm. With such encouragements we may well be sanguine for the 
future. 

" The value of your present mission, in view of future success, cannot well 
he over-estimated. How important it is, and how fortunate for our enterprise, 
that you were able to go out and order in person, and direct the improvements 
and construction of the instruments !" 

In order that the extract, on page 11, from my letter of 1855, Nov. 
5, from Gotha, might not contradict their bare-faced assertion on page 
155 — my Accusers omitted in the second line the words which I italicise, 
" and here, as in the Meridian Circle, the changes will be very great." 



342 

Even if this instrument merely combines the peculiarities of the best 
instruments of the best observatories of Europe, am I to be elaborately 
proved destitute of all credit for this ? If it has peculiarities of its 
own, obtained by my responsibility, can an absence of merit be proved ? 

Since their own opinions upon such a subject would have no weight 
with the community, an application was made to Dr. Briinnow for a 
letter to Mr. Olcott, which they now publish. I have replied, in another 
place, to the scientific statement, contained in this letter. 

Dr. Briinnow 's remark, that the illumination of the field is similar to 
the arrangement of the Greenwich instrument, is correct so far as 
relates to the results obtained, and is incorrect so far as relates to means 
employed for its attainment. 

His remark that he would himself " have proposed a different arrange- 
ment for reversing the telescope" would have been very proper in any 
other connection, but in the present one is easily understood. — I have 
no criticism to make, but differ from him in opinion, since the present 
arrangement is more convenient for use than any other which I can 
imagine. 

Of this letter of Dr. Briinnow, with its flattery of Mr. Olcott, its 
unworthy endeavors to assail and injure one who had always been a 
friend (and, at least in one instance, a very serviceable one) ; its broad 
inaccuracies of statement and incorrectness of assertion, — I will say no 
more, — it has been sufficiently discussed on pages 133 and 166. The 
Accusers say of it that it "is admirable, both for the candor and the 
clearness of its statements." But their views of what is candid and 
admirable seldom agree with my own. 

My object now is only to show that the expectant partisan is not an 
unprejudiced witness. Shortly after the publication of Mr. Olcott's 
attack upon me in June last, I addressed a letter to each of the six 
persons named by him as in hostile relations, not asking, as the Accu- 
sers assert of the one to Dr. Briinnow, any approval of my course at 
the Observatory, (for they could not know what this had been,) but 
simply inquiring whether my personal relations with them were such as 
Mr. Olcott asserted. I expected frank, manly and generous replies ; for, 
even had the mutual relations not been cordial, noble natures would 
gladly avail themselves of such an opportunity to vindicate their own 
superiority to personal motives, and claim at once the universal brother- 
hood of science. In this expectation I have, in three instances, been 
disappointed. From one of the persons so addressed I received no 
answer. Another, lately my neighbor, replied with ill-concealed malice 
and an almost open avowal of personal hostility ; and has since been 



343 

actively engaged in circulating the " Statement," and endeavoring to 
injure me in my native city. The reply of Dr. Briinnow, is partially 
published in the "Statement." A copy was furnished by him to Dr. 
Peters to be used against me, and the public is gravely informed that 
this copy " was given to the Trustees by Dr. Peters, with permission 
to make it public ! !" (p. 162.) I offer no comment upon this transaction ; 
bnt may mention that the last sentence of the letter, referring to one 
of my past manifestations of friendship, is omitted in the published 
version; whether by Dr. Briinnow, Dr. Peters, or the Editor, I will 
not undertake to decide. This letter is farther discussed in § 143. 

140. The gratuity to Messrs. Pistor and Martins. 

This matter is thoroughly set forth by the Council in §21 of the 
"Defence." The idea of founding an accusation against me upon the 
fact that I sent three hundred dollars, of my own earning, to the makers 
of the circle to compensate them for their loss in constructing the instru- 
ment, could not have been original with an honest man. The statement 
that Mr. Olcott 

" wrote a letter expressing surprise and dissatisfaction that the unauthorized 
gift should have been made without the consent of the Board," 

is untrue. He did however show his animosity by a slip of temper, while 
he was by smiles and blandishments endeavoring to persuade me that my 
uniform kindness to him was accomplishing its work. That the Trustees 
had not appropriated any money for this purpose, and would not, Mr. 
Olcott well knew; as he also did, that the money was not sent "in 
behalf of the Board, by the Director " who was not allowed even pensi 
paper or ink for the business of the Observatory ! 

141. The Gentleman from the West. 
The Accusers say, (pp. 157, 158) : 

"A very brief allusion is made in the Defence to ' the story of a gentleman from 
the West,' as it is called, and it is disposed of in the following manner: 

4 The story of the gentleman from the West, which is introduced by Mr. Olcott, 
has been traced, by the help of one of the Trustees, from its origin to its present 
form and we declare that it grew out of a single misconception, exaggerated until 
it took its present dimensions — reminding us of that trite history of exaggeration 
which each one will refer to at once for himself.' 

"The c story ' was this: A gentleman from a western State, while in Albany, 
visited the Observatory, and conversed with Dr. Gould, who indulged in very 
gross abuse of the Trustees, and in representations respecting the Observatory, 
such as he had made in his letters to the Altona Journal. This is of impor- 
tance only so far as it tends to prove, that Dr. Gould was really endeavoring to 
injure the Institution by misrepresentations, while professing a desire to pro- 
mote its interests." 

For the information of the signers of the " Statement," — I will state 
that the " trite history" referred to by the Council was that of the " three 



344 

black crows," which previous to the publications of Mr. Olcott and his 
coadjutors passed as the best type of exaggeration. 

I am happy to say that I have in my possession full and conclusive evi- 
dence on the subject from the gentleman alluded to, (whom* I have never 
had the pleasure of seeing except on the occasion of his visit,) — and whom 
I will not draw into this controversy even by the publication of any part 
of his letter, unless the course of my Accusers renders it imperative. 

The declaration will suffice, at present, that their assertions are 
thoroughly and wickedly untrue ; and that I indulged in no abuse of 
the Trustees whatever. The gentleman was not alone, but accompanied 
by a resident of this city ; — so that I have two witnesses, 

142. The Letters to Altona. 

On the 25th of January, 1858, in a letter to Prof. Peters, Editor of the 
Astro nomische Nachrickten of Altona, announcing my proposed change 
of residence, I mentioned that the Coast Survey had lent to the Observa- 
tory the large transit-instrument. The letter was written in the Grerman 
language and the expression which I used was " zum Gebrauche iiberlas- 
sen." By a typographical error the word " Gebrauche' 1 '' was printed 
" Geschenke;" so that I appeared as saying, what was of course intrinsic- 
ally absurd, that the instrument had been given to the Observatory. 

My attention was first drawn to this misprint by an offensive paragraph 
in an Albany evening paper , — communicated as I had reason to believe, 
through Dr. Armsby. In pursuance of my established policy of attempted 
conciliation, I took occasion to introduce the subject at my next interview 
with Mr. Olcott, treating it in a jocose way ; and explained to him with 
pen and paper the nature of the mistake. I also wrote a short note to the 
editor of the newspaper stating that the misapprehension, — for such I chose 
to consider it, — was based upon a misprint. Finally I wrote to Altona 
again ; directing Prof. Peters's attention to the subject in a letter, which, 
together with the correction, he published at once. 

The Accusers now give, <3n page 159, a translation of the first letter, 
with the words of the original error, not only literally translated, but even 
italicised. And although they also give on page 113, an extract from the 
second letter, they omit to give the part which contains the correction. 

From both letters they contrive to deduce accusations against me. The 
former is used to prove me guilty of falsehood, slander and unfaithfulness 
to the interests of the institution ; — the latter furnishes the only basis for 
Mr. Olcott's charge of peculation. 

Of the former, the Council say in the " Defence :" 

" The matter of the letter to the Astronomical Journal of Altona, is shown 
to be a perfectly simple one, and to have in it not the first element of a charge 
against Di\ Gould." 



345 

And for saying this the Accusers now assail them, and insinuate that they 
were guilty of untruth. 

143. Dr. Gould's "Mental Habitudes ," and "Unfriendly Relations 
with Astronomers." 

In his Manifesto, Mr. Olcott had made it one of the grounds of com- 
plaint against me, that although ' the Trustees' had hoped to secure for the 
Observatory " a national character, and as a means to this end, to co- 
operate in harmonious action with" other observatories, they found that 
my " personal relations " with American astronomers were "such as to 
preclude the hope of concert and co-operation with them." 

To this the Council replied, by showing that the pages of my Astrono- 
mical Journal contained constant contributions from these very men. 

The Accusers themselves now attempt, on pages 161-163, to convict 
Professors Henry, Bache and Peirce, of " evasion" and " unworthy and 
dishonorable deception," for making this defence. The charge had not 
been that these gentlemen did not like me, or that I did not like them ; 
but it was that our personal relations precluded, not only concert and co- 
operation, but even the hope of it. The Council refuted the falsehood, by 
showing that such concert and co-operation actually existed at the time, 
thus confining themselves strictly to the point at issue. 

The Accusers now say of the Council : 

" The authors of this ' Defence ' have not the poor excuse even of imagining 
that the feelings of the gentlemen they have named in their paragraph are 
friendly towards Dr. Gould. They put forth their pretence, in fact, in the face 
of knowledge to the contrary." 

The attempt thus to found a charge of deception is very malignant. 

I had never had, to my knowledge, any quarrel, controversy!^ dispute 
with any one of the persons named. With Prof. Mitchel, of Cincinnati, 
the Mitchells of Nantucket, and Dr. Briinnow, I stood in relations of 
friendship, never interrupted, so far as I was aware. With Commander 
Maury and the Messrs. Bond, of Cambridge, my acquaintance and rela- 
tions were not intimate, and could not deserve the sacred name of friend- 
ship ; but, on the other hand, no dispute of any kind existed between us. 
The # statement insidiously inserted as a pretended illustration, in Dr. 
Briinnow's letter, (page 163) that a " rupture of all intercourse " existed 
between myself and these gentlemen, is a base untruth. We never met 
without a kindly greeting, and often interchanged letters ; and I have evi- 
dence of the same in letters from the directors, both of the Washington 
and Cambridge Observatory, written since they saw Mr. Olcott's Mani- 
festo. 

23 



346 

The whole is part of the attempt to " crush," by rendering me odious, 
as a man of offensive and quarrelsome personal character. 

Upon the publication of the first attack, I wrote at once to Prof. 
Mitchel and Dr. Briinnow, informing them of it, and fully expected 
from them an indignant denial of the false assertion. Prof. Mitchel 
never answered my letter ; and Dr. Briinnow sent the one dated July 1, 
a mutilated copy of which is given on page 163 of the " Statement," 
as having been furnished for publication by Dr. Peters ! 

On June 24, two days before Mr. Olcott's presentation, June 26, 
of his Manifesto, I had received a very cordial, friendly letter from 
Dr. Briinnow, dated June 21 ! 

To his very surprising letter of July 1, which began " Dear Gould," 
was filled with unkind remarks and untrue insinuations, and was signed 
"Yours truly, Briinnow," — I replied, expressing my regret at his words 
and my conviction that he was laboring under misapprehension, my 
assurance that my " treatment of Peters" had always been kindly, and 
asking if he would not like to hear the other side of the case. 

I quote from his answer, dated July 8 : 

"It is true that I had all of my information about the Peters affair from 
Peters, and some of the Albany papers, which were sent to us now and then 
by an unknown party. But it appeared to me that Peters has been abused 
and I could not help taking the side of the oppressed party, but that he is my 
fellow countryman had nothing to do with it." 

" I shall read with great interest the statement of the other side, and it may 
be that I find that there were wrongs on both sides. I sincerely wish that my 
name had not been mixed up with the present deplorable affair, and I wish to 
have nothing to do with it." 

" I suppose none of the Trustees know me except Dr. Armsby. From him I 
had a letter once, long before I knew of the present troubles, in which he asked 
me what arrangements we had made here for visiters, and what regulations 
exist in the European Observatories. I told him that on account of the curi- 
osity which our Observatory excited-, we were obliged to have it open to visi- 
ters one evening every week, but that since lately, as the arrangement inter- 
fered with the observations, we admit visiters only with my special permission. 
I wrote* to him, too that the Berlin Observatory is shown to visiters every 
Wednesday and Saturday, from 9 to 11, a. m., but that for visits in the eve- 
ning the special permission of Prof. Encke is required, and that I think similar 
arrangements exist in the other observatories. _ , 

As I know now why this request was made of me, I should think you might 
have satisfied the Trustees with similar regulations. I think myself you acted 
too rashly, and I doubt, too, whether the course adopted by the Scientific Coun- 
cil was the wisest for their interest." 

Regarding the topics of this letter, I must make a few remarks : 

1st. Although acknowledging that all his information had been 
received from Peters, and from the "unknown party," he is yet willing 
to declare a rupture of personal relations, and that the most favorable 
conclusion he can arrive at is : "it may be that I find that there were 
wrongs on both sides." 



34T 

2d. Since the reception of this letter I have not communicated with 
Dr. Briinnow in any way except to send him such documents as may 
have been issued. Yet though he wished to have " nothing to do with " 
"the present deplorable affair," he wrote to Mr. Olcott July 31, that 
letter [" Statement," p. 155,] about the Meridian Circle, which I have 
already exposed. 

3d. The Dudley Observatory had been uniformly exhibited to visiters 
at all hours, with the three exceptions heretofore detailed. So con- 
stant and burdensome had been the influx that I had myself defrayed 
the salary of an assistant, for the sole purpose of accompanying the 
multitude of strangers who came up asking to see the establishment. 
Dr. Briinnow thinks I " might have satisfied the Trustees with similar 
regulations " to his own ; and that I " acted too rashly " ! ! 

That Dr. Briinnow should so far forget his past relations with me as 
to adopt the side of his fellow countryman, without preferring to look 
into the case — and should then proceed to assail me without provocation^ 
because espousing the cause of my opponents, certainly does not speak 
well for him ; but it is no basis for a want of scientific co-operation. 
Whether I was right or wrong in a difference regarding Dr. Peters, 
makes no basis for hostile relations, such as Mr. Olcott asserted to 
exist, and which were contradicted by the facts themselves, at that time. 
No doubt this attack upon me will bring out secret enemies, if I have 
them, as open ones ; but I regard this as a gain. If Dr. Briinnow 
chooses to range himself on that side, forgetful of the past — so be it. 

144. Confidential Letters. 

I have more than once alluded to the declaration of the Accusers on 

pages 163 and 104, 

" But in this statement, the Trustees have thought fit to confine themselves 
to matters relating directly to the Dudley Observatory, and have availed them- 
selves only of such letters as arc strictly of an official character, carefully 
abstaining from all reference to such as might by any possibility, be regarded 
as confidential." 

And it is with difficulty that I restrain myself from characterizing this 
assertion by the short strong word which alone it merits. Not all the 
other assertions of my Accusers together have so astounded me as this one # 
No letter which I wrote to Mr. Olcott or to Dr. Armsby, prior to the 
19th of January, 1858, was " of an official chacacter." I was not Director 
uutil the arrangement of December, ratified on the 19th of Jan. 1858, — 
but simply a member of the Scientific Council. The Accusers carefully 
avoid noticing in any way my official correspondence with them except- 
ing only the letter in which I firmly though courteously, protest agains* 



348 

the Observatory premises being made a public pleasure ground. My 
official correspondence has already been laid before the public in a 
separate pamphlet. All the alleged letters " to the Trustees" — from 
which they quote, save one, were private. Yery many of them were 
marked " private" and " confidential," as my press-copies clearly show. 
The whole tone and style of my correspondence with Mr. Olcott and 
Dr. Armsby shows how far it was from being official. My letters were 
the free outpourings of friend to friend. In them I freely spoke of 
men and measures, relying on the supposed honor of those to whom 
I wrote. How vain that reliance ! how misplaced that confidence which, 
as a young man, I felt in men much older than myself ! Do men 
address official letters " My dear friend" and sign them "Affectionately 
yours?" I have given samples of my letters taken from the press- 
copies, which to the infinite confusion and dismay of Mr. Olcott and 
his coadjutors, I had preserved. Let the public judge whether they 
were or were not official. Yet I am not complaining of their publica- 
tion so far as they relate to Observatory matters, but of their falsi- 
fication and perversion. I am not ashamed of what I wrote, nor unwilling 
to see it paraded before the whole world when it pertains to any subject 
upon which publicity is pardonable. But I leave the burden and the dis- 
grace where it belongs ; — with those who have published correspondence 
marked "private" and " confidential;" who have garbled, distorted and 
falsified what they were in honor bound to hold sacred ; and who now 
threaten to print and circulate all my remaining private notes and letters 
without reserve or restraint. 

145. Work Done. 
My Accusers say ; 

" The Council occupy three pages in a professed description of work done at 
the Observatory since January last. The object is to persuade the inexperienced 
reader into the belief that some important astronomical observations have really 
been made by Dr. Gould and his assistants. The Trustees are assured by com- 
petent astronomers that this claim is entirely baseless and ridiculous. To 
them, the statement of the Council carries its own refutation." 

The " competent astronomer," cited by the Accusers, is Dr. C. H. F. 
Peters!! His letter speaks for itself. — So does the opinion of "the 
Trustees," regarding the Council's estimate of astronomical work. The 
work, which has been accomplished by myself and assistants, has been 
sufficiently set forth in Part I, chapter YI. 

146. Dr. Peters' 's opinion of Dr. Gould's work. 

The Accusers have set up a man of straw, in the hope that I will waste 
my strength in knocking him down. But I shall not. 



349 

147. The Majority's Claims and Apologies. 
On pages 167 and 168, my Accusers continue : 

" The Trustees have thus presented what they believe to be a fair and truth- 
ful history of their connection with the four gentlemen who are now in posses- 
sion of the Dudley Observatory. They have endeavored to set forth, with a 
strict regard to their truthfulness, all the facts bearing upon this painful contro- 
versy. Much that has been said, they would gladly have omitted, were they 
not persuaded that justice, both to themselves and those with whom they are 
forced to contend, required that it should be said." 

This paragraph requires no special discussion by me. After the expo- 
sitions of this Reply, it may stand for what it is worth. 

148. The Refusal to Submit to Reference. 

A memorial to the Trustees, signed by Mrs. Dudley, General Van 
Rensselaer, and more than thirty other prominent donors, and to which 
the great. majority of the remaining donors would undoubtedly have affixed 
their signatures, had opportunity been offered, was presented to the Trus- 
tees during the summer, asking them to refer the controversy to the 
following gentlemen, — 

Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, New York. 

President Charles King, Columbia College. 

Ex-Governor Washington Hunt, Lockport. 

J. Ingersoll Bowditch, Esq., Boston. 

Hon. Gulian C. Verplanck, /. New York. 

These gentlemen are citizens too prominent for me to presume to speak 
of their characters ; the country knows them. As to their selection, I 
had neither share nor previous knowledge ; with none of them had I 
communicated upon the subject, at the time ; two of them I had not seen 
for some years ; another I had met only on two occasions, both ceremo- 
nious ; — and a fourth I knew to have been prepossessed against me by 
efforts from an unfriendly quarter. 

Still there is no one of them to whom I myself would not then, and 
would not now, cheerfully submit the case. 

To this proposition for reference the Accusers reply : 

"The very statement of the question shows that it is not a fit subject of 
reference. It is equivalent to a submission of the question whether the Trus- 
tees shall abandon the Observatory and surrender their trust altogether. 

This latter step was urged by Mrs. Dudley, in so many words, and was 
desired, as is well known, by the donors of probably two-thirds of the 
whole amount contributed. 

And there is here a tacit admission, — a betrayal of a secret conscious- 
ness, that the proposed investigation, by an impartial tribunal, could 

result in nothing short of the utter condemnation and overthrow of Mr. 
Olcott and his majority of Trustees. 



APPENDIX. 



(A.) 

First Letter of the Scientific Council. 

1856, Aug. 8. 
Thomas TV*. Olcott. Esq. 

Dear Sir — The time has at length arrived when it becomes our duty to consider 
in what way the munificent investment which has been made in the Observatory 
shall be improved to its intended purpose. The generous appropriation for instru- 
ments has been most happily expended; and an astronomical apparatus of unrivaled 
perfection and completeness has been secured, — one which it will rejoice the heart 
of the observer merely to contemplate, and which has attracted to the Capital of 
your State the regards of the whole world of science. The care of this great 
treasure is a serious responsibility and a weight of trust, which cannot be honestly 
undertaken without a distinct perception of the possibility of its performance. 
After a careful and critical examination of the expenses of the establishment, we 
find that the Observatory cannot be creditably conducted for less than ten thousand 
dollars of annual outlay. The special details of the investigation are contained in 
the accompanying schedule, in which you will perceive that the personnel is reduced 
to its minimum in every respect, and that no farther reduction is in any way per- 
missible. Rather than undertake the conduct of the Institution for a smaller sum 
of money, it would be decidedly advisable that the instruments should lie idle for 
a time in the company of too many noble telescopes of America. But, on the con- 
trary, if the greatness of your giving can rise to this occasion, as it has to all our 
previous suggestions with such unflinching magnanimity, we promise you our 
earnest and hearty co-operation, and stake our reputations that the scientific suc- 
cess sliall fill up the measure of your hopes and anticipations. 

A. D. BACHE. 
JOSEPH HENRY, 
BENJAMIN PEIRCE, 

B. A. GOULD, Jr. 
(B.) 

Mrs. Dudley's Letter read at the Inauguration. 

Albany, August 14, 1856. 
To the Trustees of the Dudley Observatory : 

Gentlemen — I scarcely need refer, in a letter to you, to the modest beginning 
and gradual growth of the Institution over which you preside, and of which you 
are the responsible guardians. But we have arrived at a period in its history when 
its inauguration gives to it and to you some degree of prominence, and which must 
stamp our past efforts with weakness and iuconsideration, or exalt those of the 
future, to the measure of liberality necessary to certain success. You have a 
building erected, and instruments engaged of unrivaled excellence, and it now 
remains to carry out the suggestion of the Astronomer Royal of England, in giving 
permanency to the establishment. The very distinguished Professors, Bache, 
Peirce and Gould, state in a letter which I have been permitted to see, that to 
expand this Institution to the wants of American Science, and the honors of a 
National character, will require an investment which will yield annually not less 
than $10,000. And these gentlemen say, in the letter referred to, " If the great- 
ness of your giving can rise to this occasion, as it has to all our previous suggestions 
with such unflinching magnanimity, we promise you our earnest and hearty 
co-operation, and stake our reputations that the scientific success shall fill up the 
measure of your hopes and anticipations." 

For the attainment of an object so rich in Scientific rewards and National glory, 
guaranteed by men with reputations as exalted and enduring as the skies upon 



352 

which they are written, contributions should be general, and not confined to an 
individual or a place. 

For myself, I offer as my share of the required endowment, the sum of $50,000, 
in addition to the advances which I have already made; and, trusting that the 
name which you have given to the Observatory may not be considered as an unde- 
served compliment, and that it will not diminish the public regards, by giving to 
the Institution a seemingly individual character, 

I remain, Gentlemen, 

Your obedient servant, 

BLANDINA DUDLEY. 

(C.) 

Mrs. Dudley to the Scientific Council. 

Albany, June 9, 1858. 
To. Profs. Henry, Bache, Peirce and Gould, 

Scientific Council of the Dudley Observatory : 

Gentlemen — I need not inform you with what anxious interest I have watched 
your management of the scientific affairs of the Dudley Observatory, and the 
gratification with which I have seen its development under your skilful care, in 
spite of the embarrassments with which I am well aware you have been impeded. 

As stated in my letter at the time of the Inauguration of the Observatory, my 
donation toward the requisite endowment was made upon the guaranty furnished 
by your names and reputations; and it has occasioned me deep regret to learn 
that your efforts are obstructed, and your plans thwarted, by individuals holding 
office in the Board of Trustees. It is my hope that the present officers of that 
Board may see the propriety of resigning, under these circumstances, and leaving 
their places to be filled by the votes of those Trustees who are not upon the present 
Executive Committee. 

Thanking you for your unselfish devotion to the great enterprise which we all 
have so much at heart, I remain 

Your obedient servant, 

BLANDINA DUDLEY. 

(D.) 
Reply of the Scientific Council to Mrs. Dudley. 

Dudley Observatory, 1858, June 30. 
Mrs. Blandina Dudley: 

Dear Madam — Your letter of June 9 was duly received; but we have delayed 
our reply, until, by farther personal examination of the condition of the Observa- 
tory, we should be enabled to speak without hesitation of the progress which had 
been made in carrying out the intentions of your noble gift. 

We need not express our high gratification at learning how deeply you, as well 
as your relatives and personal friends, sympathize with us in our endeavors to fulfil 
the expectations justly entertained in consequence of the largeness of your dona- 
tions, and the pledges heretofore given by the Trustees of the Observatory. 

"When we remembered the pomp and ceremony with which the Dudley Observa- 
tory was inaugurated as a national and scientific institution, and the promises 
under which your last great donation was obtained, we could not believe that the 
obstructions to which you allude would continue to exist. 

We have made a careful examination of the present state of the Observatory, 
the progress which has been made in bringing its several parts into action, and the 
work already accomplished; and we can truly say, that we are not only satisfied 
with what Dr. Gould has already done, but are highly gratified with both the 
amount and character of the work. Not only has he made good progress in the 
equipment of the Observatory and mounting the instruments, but he has exhibited 
to us a series of investigations, now in progress, the results of which will be admit- 
ted to be an important addition to astronomical science. 

On the receipt of your letter, we had already made arrangements for an early 
meeting in the city of Albany. We had been appealed to by the Board of Trus- 
tees, and determined to investigate carefully the difficulties which they might 
allege to exist, in the hope that, by good temper and disinterested effort on both 
sides, these might be removed. We could not believe that personal feeling would 



353 

be permitted to interfere with the execution of so sacred a trust. We have been 
met, on our arrival, by resolutions denying our power, dismissing from our Coun- 
cil one of its members, and the declaration that Dr. Gould must be removed as 
Director. The necessity for the removal of Dr. Gould was declared after the 
reading of a paper, containing grave charges against him as a man of science, and 
also as an honest man, and without giving the opportunity for a hearing or reply. 

These charges we have investigated, and declare to you they are entirely base- 
less. After considering and asserting the moral rights which we regarded as 
belonging to our position as Council, we determined to offer measures of concilia- 
tion; to take charge of the Observatory ourselves; to submit the questions to 
arbitration; or to meet with a Committee of Conference, appointed by the Trus- 
tees. The President of the Board has refused to submit these propositions to the 
body to whom they were addressed, thus denying us also a hearing. 

The most sacred rights of man are thus boldly trampled upon ; and we can not 
hut fear that our efforts to keep this Institution, which bears your honored name, 
in a condition of scientific progress, may even prove unavailing, unless public 
opinion should enforce upon the Trustees the necessity of the withdrawal to which 
you refer. ' 

TTe shall continue to contest this matter with such powers as we possess, from 
our position as the Scientific Council of the Dudley Observatory. We feel that it 
may well excite your womanly sympathy — ever ready to rise against oppression — 
to see instruments, devised by a ripe and learned astronomer, wrested by violence 
from his use, or given into the hands of another; to blight all his hopes, and the 
zeal with which he was pursuing so successfully the advancement of his favorite 
science. 

If the Trustees have failed, upon your call, to do what propriety and delicacy 
required, we have but little hope that they will listen to us, or that we shall be 
able to save the Institution from the results of their disorganizing measures; in 
which might is substituted for right, and by which a deserving, zealous, honorable 
man of science is arraigned and condemned without a hearing, and a so-called 
Council, whose only acknowledged power is to give advice, denied the opportunity 
to present it to the Trustees, unless it accord with the previous determination of 
the body which it is to advise. 

The Trustees even undertake to decide, without hearing the Scientific Council 
which they created, upon the scientific character of the Director and the scientific 
operations of the Observatory; as if determined practically to ignore the existence 
of the Council, which they selected on the very ground that the Trustees them- 
selves were not conversant with science. 

This course, if persevered in, must assuredly be most disastrous to the best inte- 
rests of the Institution. It substitutes the excited determinations of personal 
feeling and angry temper for the sober conclusions of reason; and, availing itself 
of its power, exercises it with the ungoverned energy of the uncivilized man, 
rather than with the sobriety and self-control and mildness of the Christian. 

It remains to be seen whether, in our time and in our country, this will be tole- 
rated. Very respectfully, Dear Madam, yours, 

JOSEPH HENRY, 
A. D. BACHE, 
BENJAMIN PEIRCE. 
(E.) 

Reply of the Majority to the Charge of Garbling. 

The Trustees of the Dudley Observatory, having been publicly charged by 
Dr. B. A. Gould, Jr.. with garbling certain letters written by him, in such a man- 
ner as to falsify and pervert his meaning, and with having fabricated one or more 
letters, and parts of letters, deem it proper to state that there is no more truth in 
these charges, than there was in any of the numerous false accusations made 
against them by the same party prior to the publication of their Statement. 

While it is true that in some instances large portions of letters of very great 
length have been omitted, mainly for the sake of brevity; and in some other 
instances, through circumstances that will hereafter be explained, here and there 
a word has been accidentally changed, and some verhal inaccuracies have thus 
occurred, it is entirely untrue that Dr. Gould' 1 s meaning has, in any case, been per- 
verted; that any alteration, omission or addition has been made, in the slightest 
degree prejudicial to him or favorable to the case of the Trustees; or that any let- 



354 

ter or sentence not actually written by Dr. Gould, and the original of which is not 
in their possession, has been published in their Statement, 

The Trustees are aware that their own friends, and all who are personally- 
acquainted with Dr. Gould, will need no assurance that the charges now made 
against them are without any foundation. To those of the public to whom all the 
parties to this controversy are unknown, the Trustees desire to say that they have 
a satisfactory explanation to give, of all the cases Of pretended •'' garbling " which 
have as yet been cited. As additional charges and a more specific reply to their 
statements are promised, the Trustees withhold their answer to Dr. Gould's last 
pamphlet until that reply shall appear. At the proper moment these letters, with 
all their contents, may be given to the public. 

In the meantime, the Trustees challenge Dr. Gould to specify the letter or let- 
ters, the whole or any part of which he never wrote. They will prove his allega- 
tions in this respect to be as destitute of truth, as they have already shown his 
statements to be, in other instances. 

THOMAS W. OLCOTT, SAMUEL H. RANSOM, 

IRA HARRIS. ISAAC W. YOSBURGH 

WILLIAM H. DEWITT, ROBERT H. PRTJYN. 

JOHN F. RATHBONE, JAMES H. ARMSBY. 

ALDEN MARCH, 

(F.) 

Letter from John E. Gavit, Esq. 

Albany, Oct. 9, 1858. 
My dear Sir — I send you, with pleasure, answers to the four questions contained 
in your note of the 2d inst. 

1. No account was ever presented to the Trustees of the Dudley Observatory, or 
to anybody else, for my travelling expenses in Europe. The sum of $750 was given 
me, in advance, towards meeting the cost of the expedition. My actual and 
necessary expenses exceeded this sum by more than one-third part, which excess 
was defrayed by myself; and my time and services given gratuitously. 

2. I undertook the journey as one of the Local Secretaries of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science, in order to present in person certain 
invitations to eminent scientific men in Europe. On a former occasion I had been 
requested by Mr. T. W. Olcott to go to Europe in behalf of the Observatory, and 
had declined ; but when invited to undertake this other highly honorable and grat- 
ifying mission, I could not refuse. My expedition was entirely independent of Mr. 
Spencer's, and would have been made, even had Mr. Spencer remained at home. 
But during most of the time we travelled together. 

3. The barometers and thermometers, of which you make inquiry, were ordered 
by Mr. Olcott, and were purchased by Mr. Spencer, to whom he gave the money 
for the purpose. I understood that the recommendation of the maker came from 
you; but I myself never had any communication with you; written or oral, con- 
cerning the purchase. 

4. Both Mr. Spencer and myself made great efforts to carry these instruments 
with us through England; but it proved a matter of great difficulty on account of 
the Custom House regulations. We went so far as to apply to the American Min- 
ister in Paris for some aid in this respect, but unsuccessfully. I remained for this 
purpose in Paris for some days, while Mr. Spencer went to Oxford. Finally it was 
found necessary to send them from Havre to New York, but I caused them to be 
insured by the Express Co. against injury. They were consigned to the l: Trustees 
of the Dudley Observatory," with whom was the duty of recovering the insurance 
due. The boxes were opened in the presence of some of the Trustees, who saw 
how much breakage had occurred. 

Very sincerely yours, 
Dr. B. A. Gould, Jr., JOHN E. GAVIT. 

Director of the Dudley Observatory. 

(G.) 

Letter from Charles A. Spencer, Esq. 

Canastota, Nov. 2, 1858. 
Dr. B. A. Gould : 

Dear Sir — Your favor of the 29th ultimo, making inquiries in reference to mat- 
ters concerning the Dudley Observatory,, is at hand. I have perhaps too san- 
guinely indulged the hope that there might not be any occasion which should call 



355 

for the use of my name In the painful controversy between the Trustees, and your- 
self and the late Scientific Council. I long since determined that I would in no 
event indulge in any partisan feeling in relation thereto. My personal relations to 
all have been, so far as I am aware, of the most friendly character, and I have no 
desire to change or destroy them. Such being my determination, I do not feel 
called upon to make any statement in relation to facts within my knowledge which 
shall call for any expression of opinion for or against either of the parties; whilst 
at the same time I feel the obligation which your letter has imposed, of replying to 
your inquiries so far as my remembrance of the facts may enable me to do so, 
respecting my past relations to yourself and to the Trustees. 

To your first inquiry I reply: — That having had no connection with the Observa- 
tory at the time mentioned, I know nothing whatever of Mrs. Dudley having raised 
her subscription from So. 000 to $11,000, prior to your departure for Europe. 

As far as I can recall the facts in relation to the Heliometer, they are briefly 
these: — After your return from Europe I one day received a visit from you at Can- 
astota; on which occasion you were accompanied by Dr. Arrnsby, Mr. Gavit, and 
Mr. Baker. This was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting you, or of mak- 
ing your acquaintance. On the pressing invitation of Dr. Arrnsby and yourself, I 
returned with you to Albany, and remained there until 6 o'clock p.m. of the ensu- 
ing day. Our conversation" on the way to Albany and during a few hours of the 
next day was a somewhat earnest discussion of Heliometers and other astronomical 
instruments. I did not at the time suppose that our interviews had any relation 
to the construction of the Dudley Heliometer by myself; having been led to sup- 
pose — whether erroneously or not I cannot say — by my conversation with Dr. 
Arrnsby that your prepossessions in favor of the Messrs. Repsold, were too strong 
to be overcome. Neglecting a somewhat pressing and repeated invitation to remain 
and attend a party at Mrs. Dudley's, on the evening of the second day referred to, 
I returned home by the 6 o'clock p, >i. train. 

A day or two after my return I received a letter from yourself informing me that 
the making of the Heliometer had been intrusted to me, and requesting me to pre- 
pare estimates of such sizes as I would be willing to' make. This estimate I made 
out and sent to Mr. Olcott, I believe. In making these estimates I was requested 
to add to the price of each of the sizes named, the sum of seven hundred and fifty 
dollars; this last sum being the estimated cost of a trip to Europe to study the 
Heliometer and other instruments in the foreign workshops and Observatories. — 
Shortly after sending the estimates I was informed that Mrs. Dudley had chosen 
the Heliometer of highest price on my list, namely, the one for which, with the 
seven hundred and fifty dollars added the proposed cost was to be $14,500. — 
Previous to the acceptance of the last price named, I knew of no sum having been 
given for the purchase of a Heliometer save that, mentioned in the newspapers of 
the time, of $(3,000, as having been given by Mrs. Dudley for that purpose. During 
your absence in Europe. I remember having been permitted to read a letter of 
yours to Mr. Olcott. written at Gotha (the date I do not remember) in which you 
stated that Repsold's prices were so much more than the anticipated $6,000 that 
you declined to take the responsibility of ordering the Heliometer from them before 
consulting with the Trustees or friends of the Observatory. In that fetter you 
gave a list of prices of the different sizes, you had proposed, and stated that the 
Kepsolds had declined to make an instrument with an object-glass larger than nine 
inches in diameter on any terms. 

As to my expenses to Europe, it was assumed that the seven hundred and fifty 
dollars mentioned would cover them; and no other account was made of them to 
the Trustees by me. 

I cannot now remember by whom the order for barometer and thermometers 
was given to me. I can only recall the fact that these instruments were several 
times mentioned in conversation with Dr. Arrnsby, Mr. Olcott and yourself, and just 
prior to my departure, I received from Mr. Olcott a draft on New-York for the 
estimated expenses of Mr. Gavit and myself, together with the proposed cost of 
these last named instruments. The sum added for this purpose was $150. I took 
upon myself the charge of procuring the instruments — having previously received 
from you the needful information as to the best makers, &c. Upon my first arrival 
in Paris, I left the order with Fastre, on the condition that the instruments were 
to be completed in two weeks time, and on my return to Paris from Germany. I 
did not again reach Paris until three weeks had elapsed, and found two thermome- 
ters completed-— the barometer being untouched. As the period of my stay in 
Paris was limited to a very few days, I declined having anything farther to do in 
relation to the matter; and at his\equest delegated my authority to Mr. Gavit, 
who was to remain in Paris for some days longer than myself. 



I understood that Mr. G-avit went to Europe as the Local Secretary of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and that as such officer he 
was charged with the duty of arranging the free passages of such distinguished 
European savans as should accept of the invitation of the Association to attend its 
then next meeting. That Mr. Gavit devoted himself to the duty I am fully aware, 
as my aid was required on several occasions to despatch the invitations in such 
season as should allow of the requisite preparations for such a voyage. Before my 
own decision was made to go to Europe, I remember to have heard that Mr Gavit 
would do so, whether I accompanied him or not. My memory of this fact is the 
clearer from the great surprise I felt at the time. Not being then aware of his 
appointment as Secretary of the Association, it seemed to me very singular that 
the Observatory should send him out to examine instruments and observatories. 

I am not aware that the " non completion of the Heliometer is due to any neg- 
ligence or want of attention" on your part. I cannot, of course, judge of the kind 
or measure of responsibility which others may believe to rest upon you in relation 
to the instrument, and can only say that, so far as my own knowledge extends you 
are not " to blame for such delay as may have occurred." 

To give a full detail of matters pertaining to the Heliometer would extend this 
reply to unreasonable length, and might in some respects perhaps be deemed a 
violation of implied confidence. I will only venture a few words therefore in refer- 
ence to the matter of delay, &c. Mr. Johnson — who, according to the Radcliffe 
observations, had awaited the completion of the celebrated Oxford Heliometer 
eight or nine years after the order for it was given — gave me as his emphatic 
parting advice, that I would not permit myself to be urged into any haste by any 
influences whatever ; but urged me to devote ample time to a thorough investiga- 
tion and study of the instrument, with a view to overcome its known defects. The 
same advice was urged by Argelander; whose experience with one of the largest 
of the Fraunhofer Heliometers only added convincing weight to his opinion. Such 
was, in a word, the uniform tenor of the counsel I received from the distinguished 
astronomers of Europe. 

Repsold could justly urge in full excuse for his long delay, that the instrument 
he had designed was greatly different in construction from any before made; and 
as my own proposed form was likewise a wide departure from any yet known, I 
felt that the greater was the necessity for ample investigation. If apparently need- 
less delay of the Dudley Heliometer has occurred, it seems to me that the last 
change proposed in the construction would compensate for it an hundred fold. As 
you are aware, serious defects seemed to belong to the very nature of the instru- 
ment and although some of the more important of these were overcome in the 
construction first devised by me, yet enough remained to leave a feeling of dissat- 
isfaction and regret, as well as to stimulate exertion. And it is because the instru- 
ment in the last perfected form is free from these defects, and is clothed with new 
powers in the delicacy and perfection of its measurements, that I am led to doubt 
if an hour of delay has occurred that may not be looked upon as fortunate. 

I have now replied, I believe, to your inquiries, as fully as is desirable, and 
have only to regret the painful occasion which has given rise to this letter. 

I am, very respectfully, yours, 

CH. A. SPENCER. 

(H.) 

Circular Address q/* 1859, Jan. 5. 

To the Donors and Friends op the Dudley Observatory. 

A new phase in the affairs of the Institution has presented itself: On Monday 
afternoon, January third, a force of about fifteen men, acting under written direc- 
tions from Thomas "W. Olcott, President of the Board of Trustees, but without any 
legal or judicial authority, presented themselvos at the Observatory premises 
during my temporary absence, entered my dwelling house, then occupied by my 
assistants and servants, and broke into the Observatory building. They declared 
that they had come to turn out the present occupants ; that they should do so by 
whatever force might be found necessary, and should take the exclusive posses- 
sion themselves. They remained in the house during the night, having a supply 
of liquor, and exercising the rule of brute force and mob law, over the premises. 
Mr. Olcott and Dr. Arnisby visited the marauders during the evening. 

It is necessary that I should state the circumstances under which I took pos- 
session and have continued in occupation of the premises, in order that those inte- 
rested in the Observatory and the public at large may understand the true charac- 



357 

ter of this crowning act of lawlessness and violence on the part of Mr. Olcott; an 
act which, by taking the law into his own hands, and setting its authority, its 
courts, its ministers and the public peace at defiance, fitly consummates a course of 
conduct, uuparalleled as I suppose on the records of civilized life. 

On the 19th of December, 1857, Mr. Olcott, acting with the authority and in 
behalf of the Trustees of the Observatory, submitted in writing to Prof. Bache in 
behalf of the Scientific Council of the Observatory, a distinct and definite proposi- 
tion, made to me orally on the day previous, regarding the possession and future 
administration of the Observatory for all scientific purposes. 

This proposition was, that I should take up my residence in Albany with assis- 
tants to be appointed by Prof. Bache or myself. " to take the entire charge of the 
Observatory," . . . . " and under the Scientific Council to be responsible for 
the scientific character of the Institution/' 

The Trustees would furnish means " for mounting the instruments, and furnish- 
ing the indispensible equipments," while my services and the services of my assis- 
tants were to be furnished gratuitously, so long as the only tangible endowment 
fund, — the gift of $50,000 from Mrs. Dudley — remained, as it then was and would 
be for some two years, unavailable for income. 

When I add, that — since the only assistants I could bring with me were, as well 
as myself, employees of the U. S. Coast Survey, and since that service was to 
continue with unchanging duties at our new station in the Observatory, just as it 
had been performed at our previous station, in Cambridge, as our sole dependence 
for earning our subsistence — the time and services which we could bestow upon 
the proper work of the Observatory were perfectly understood to be such only as 
we-could give without interfering with or interrupting our daily labor in the former 
employment, the whole proposition of Mr. Olcott will be intelligibly before the 
reader. 

This Proposition, thus made in writing, was promptly accepted in writing by 
Prof. Bache in behalf of the Scientific Council; and was as promptly accepted by 
me in person. It was accepted without modification or condition; and both par- 
ties proceeded immediately to act upon it. 

Thus made in writing and accepted in writing as well as oralty, this proposition 
of Mr. Olcott formed a compact. No more solemn, no more complete agreement 
was ever made between parties competent to contract. If anything more could 
possibly be needed to give it binding force and effect, it certainly received all needed 
sanction when the Board of Trustees, on January 19, 1858, formally ratified the 
compact by a resolution referring in express terms to Mr. Olcott's Proposition, as 
its only basis. 

It was under this Compact that I took possession of the Observatory and premi- 
ses, on February 20th, 1858; and under this that I have continued in possession, 
and in the faithful discharge of all my duties to the Institution, down to the 
present time. 

Under this compact, I was in no sense an appointee, officer or servant of the 
Trustees. No such relation existed. I was neither hired by them, nor paid by 
them; and by the express terms of the agreement, they had no authority or con- 
trol over me, in the discharge of my undertaking to conduct the scientific opera- 
tions of the Observatory. The buidings and instruments, and the grounds for all 
purposes within the scope of my undertaking, passed absolutely from the posses- 
sion of the Trustees to mine, for myself and the Scientific Council, with only such 
reasonable right of access and admission reserved to the Trustees as might be ne- 
cessary for the proper performance of their appropriate and reserved duties, as 
general conservators and financial agents of the Observatory. 

The compact, by the plainest terms and intent, (making the best disposition of 
the Institution possible.- in its condition of embarrassed finances and utter want of 
adequate or available endowment.) passed over and transferred the scientific ope- 
rations of the Observatory to the charge of those who were willing, and I may add 
competent, to take charge of it, without compensation for their services, and for 
the benefit of science alone. Of sheer necessity as well as by the terms of the 
agreement, the Observatory premises were also transferred to them at the same 
time. I was to conduct the Institution, as the Resident Astronomer, accountable 
for the manner of conducting it to nobody except the Scientific Council. For this 
purpose full possession was given to me; — a possession exclusive of all the world, 
not excepting the Trustees, to the full extent requisite for the complete perform- 
ance of my undertaking and that of the Council, as those to whom the Observatory 
had for this purpose been assigned. 

Such was the Compact under which my possession of the Observatory commenced 
and has been maintained. This is not my opinion alone, but that of the ablest 



358 

legal counsel. And the Donors and friends of the Observatory, and the public, 
will hence be able to understand on what ground of legal right it is that I have 
stood to my post in the premises for the last six months in spite of the illegal and 
unwarrantable attempts made by Mr. Olcott and his Majority of Trustees, without 
cause or color of justice, to trample their own solemn compact under foot, to treat 
me as if I had been merely their hired official or servant, and thus affect to dismiss 
me from their service. This is a point which I am told many of my friends and the 
public have not understood. They will, I trust understand it now and hereafter. 

But, while tbis presents the legal ground of my continued possession of the 
Observatory, it is due to myself to add the grounds of moral principle and obliga- 
tion under which I have acted. 

I have maintained possession under the same impulse which induced me origin- 
ally to contribute gratuitous labor, for more than two years, to the work of prepar- 
ing the Dudley Observatory for scientific usefulness ; and then to accept Mr. Olcott's 
Proposition to take it into my keeping, give my time and services gratuitously, and 
contribute my money to the amount of several thousand dollars, to complete its 
preparations and conduct its operations. That impulse sprung from my love of 
the science to which my life is dedicated; from the belief that the Dudley Observa- 
tory Avas. in its success or downfall, to exercise an important influence over the 
progress of science in my native land; from my assured conviction that with its 
instruments containing advances over previous ones, the Observatory would be so 
prepared and so used as to mark an era in Astronomical Science ; and finally and 
chiefly, from a strong sense of plighted obligation to the generous Donors, whose 
gifts, in many of the most important instances, had been bestowed upon the faith 
and declaration that the Observatory would be under the full scientific control of 
the members of the Scientific Council. 

But upon all this I do not dwell. The time has now come, when without fault 
of mine I am forced to abandon the Observatory to its fate. I have not been 
driven from my post even by persecutions so groundless, so wicked and so brutal, 
that I do not believe their equal can be found in our times. I have awaited, amid 
steady, unremitted and successful astronomical labors any legal action which Mr. 
Olcott and his supporters might see fit to institute for testing the question of legal 
rights. No such proceeding has ever been instituted — although statements to the 
contrary have been published through the daily press. Mr. Olcott has not appealed 
to the law. He has treated the law as he had already treated his own legal com- 
pact , — trampled it under his feet. What things may be sacred with him, Heaven 
may know. — Compacts are not; law is not; justice is not; truth is not. As for 
truth, I will refer to my reply to his attacks upon me, which is now nearly ready 
for the press. As for law. he lias deliberately proceeded to substitute brute force 
in its place ; he has organized a mob, a band of irresponsible rioters, and deliber- 
ately given them instructions to insult the law and to commit open violence and 
breach of the peace. And they have executed his behests. 

He has waited for this demonstration until the dead of winter. He chooses this 
inclement season to employ a mob to turn me and my assistants into the street. 
He arrests our scientific labors at a moment's notice, and so abruptly as to render 
useless the long and earnest toils of many weeks. Pie separates me by force, not 
only from the instruments belonging to the Observatory but from my charge of the 
valuable and delicately adjusted instruments and apparatus belonging to the 
United States Coast Survey, and from the Coast Survey building and station in 
the Observatory inclosure. The premises Avere visited yesterday, the 4th of 
January, by Mr. Olcott, Dr. Armsby and Judge Harris, with a view to insist upon 
and enforce Mr. Olcott's orders for the violent expulsion of myself and my assist- 
ants from the dwelling Ave occupied. 

I Avas absent at the time, engaged with my counsel and in consultation with 
friends; and, before I could return, my assistants had been ejected from the dAA r el- 
ling house, by violence, and information conveyed to me that I should not be 
alioAved to enter the house or Observatory again. The house contained the furni- 
ture provided and paid for by me, my entire wardrobe and that of my assistants, 
a large number of computations, almost all my private and official papers, and my 
library of some 3,000 volumes. 

The books containing my press- copies of letters written, and the letters Avritten 
me by Mr. Olcott and Dr. Armsby, during the years 1855, 185G and 1857, had 
been removed at the first indication of violence. 

I have yielded to the force and violence of mob laAV, although I could have met 
force with force. I could have had any number of persons, respectable in them- 
selves and led by respectable men, ready and able to prevent my expulsion or to 



359 

continue me in possession. Had I deemed such a course advisable, it needed but 
a word, and Mr. Olcott, witb his band of marauders, would have been swept from 
the place. My counsel have advised me that to overcome Mr. Olcott's force by a 
superior one, would be as justifiable in law as in reason, but it is not for me to abet 
or countenance civil commotions, riot or bloodshed. 

I might resort to legal process for redress for the violence to which I have been 
subjected, and with the certainty, if any semblance of justice still dwells in the 
land, of being eventually restored to the rightful possession of the Observatory; 
but it would be possible for my persecutors to keep the final decision long in abey- 
ance, and of course to keep me equally long away from the Observatory and its 
instruments. 

Under these circumstances, and with the advice of many friends, I have submit- 
ted to astern necessity. My present connection with the Observatory is ended, 
and with it all the hopes for science that I have so long built upon an Astronomi- 
cal Institution which I would fain have made, and could have made, one of the 
foremost and noblest in the world. Yet I trust its donors and friends will remem- 
ber, and forever bear me witness, that I have not deserted my post, but have been 
driven from it only by the exhibition of lawless force. 

It belongs to others to vindicate the character of the city of Albany from the 
reproach of such scenes of riot and violence as have been enacted in this case 
under the lead of men calling themselves respectable. 

And it now remains for the Donors to the Dudley Observatory, to take such 
steps as they may deem best, to rescue it, by judicial or legislative interposition, 
or both, from the unworthy and ruinous hands into which it has fallen. They 
should at least ask the Legislature to break up the close corporation which, in the 
person of one man, has heretofore controlled the Institution; to give the Donors 
some voice in the election of its legal guardians, or to place it under some proper 
and respectable authority. 

Pressed, and almost prostrated, as I have been by my various and unavoidable 
duties and labors, it has been impossible to devote more than snatches of time to 
the preparation of my Reply to the infamous attacks of which I have been made 
the object. The labor of preparing it has been immense; the public will see well 
enough wby, when it shall appear. But it will come, if God spares me a little 
longer. It will be put to press in a few days — although of course delayed a little 
by the confusion into which my papers and affairs are now thrown. 

It will be long, — a fault not mine, but that of my implacable and reckless ene- 
mies, and for which there is no remedy. To that reply I refer my friends and the 
public for the full vindication of all that I have, or expect to have, on this earth, 
of reputation or character among my fellow men. If men will read it, I have no 
fears for the result. So surely as God is just, and has taught men to reverence 
truth and justice, I shall come out of this painful and disgraceful controversy, this 
terrible ordeal, unscathed and justified; while, in the inevitable process of self- 
defence, my accusers and persecutes will stand forever convicted before the world 
of a long series and an accumulated record of the basest and most dangerous 
crimes, not punishable by the law, which it is possible for men to commit in a civ- 
ilized and Christian community; and implying a depth of moral depravity which 
it is shocking to contemplate. 

Bv the judgement of those who will do me the justice to read this reply, and by 
the action of the Donors (whose rights have been denied,) I am content to abide. 
I shall strengthen the plain truth by incontrovertible proofs; and if it falls heavily 
upon those who have wantonly sought to destroy me, I can only ray that the quar- 
rel was not of my seeking, and that the shame must rest upon those who began 
and continued it to this bitter end. 

I have taken a house in Albany for myself and my assistants, where our labors 
in the Coast Survey service may be continued, and shall, to the best of my ability, 
endeavor to protect the interests of the Government in the preservation of the 
instruments, apparatus and other property of the Coast Survey. 

Very respectfully, 

B. A. GOULD, Jr. 
Albany, 1859, January 5. 



INDEX. 



Page of "State- 
ment." 

84, 

83, 

117, 

75, 

71, 132, 

115, 

3, 7, 127, 139, 173, 

25, 69,79, 

74, 

69, 75, 

153, 

102, 172, 

40, 146, 

9, 29, 31, 34, 46, 

63,117, 

48,116, 

115, 

7, 127,133, 

5, 22, 27, 32,116,. 

44, 130, 

21, 

19, 

144, 

114, 161, 166, 

155, 161, 162, .... 

164, 

91, 109, 

167, 

36, 138, 

84, 

55 

35* 73*, 160, ....'.'. 

117, 

7, 63, 68, 113, 128, 

152, 
29, 147, 

41, 148, 

63, 68, 97, 150, ... 



A. 

Address of Citizens, 

Advances by Director, 

American Method, 

Annoyances by Executive Committee, 

Appropriations by Trustees, 

Appropriation, State, 

Armsby, Dr. J. H., 

character, 

endeavors to quarrel with assistants, 

attempts to annoy, 

" inadvertence," 

pretended reconciliation, 

Arbitration, propositions of, 

Astronomical Journal, 

B. 

Bache, Prof. A. D., 

character, 

offer to determine longitude, 

promise of transit and observer, . . . 

attempts to embroil him, 

Barnard, Hon. D. D., 

Barometer, broken, 

Bartlett, Prof. W. H. C, 

Blunt, Messrs. E. and G. W., 

Boardman, Mr., 

Bond, Mr. W. C., 

Briinnow, Dr. F., . . . . ^ .* 

c. 

Calculating Engine, see * Tabulating Engine 

Catalogue of Stars, 

Character of the Attacks, 

of Mr. Olcott's Manifesto, 

of the " Statement," 

of Reply, 

of a first-class Observatory, 

Chronograph, 

Citizens' Meeting, 

address, 

memorial, 

Clocks, 

Coast Survey, attacks upon, 

relations to the Observatory, 

Columbia College, 

Comet, the Olcott, 

Compact of December, 

24 



Page of Reply. 

93, 293. 

4, 117, 291, 320. 

124, 309. 

80, 144. 

141, 144, 282, 317, 

339. 
58, 78,123,146,231, 

254 279. 
5, 19,'ll3,'l65, 176, 

276. 

5, 10, 11, 13, 79, 194. 

6, 99, 102, 284. 
77, 80, 85, 276. 
80, 339. 

73, 76. 
298, 349. 
163, 238. 



176. 

209, 308. 

42, 61. 

4, 40, 142, 145, 222, 

320. 
124, 224. 
92, 93, 167. 
249, 315, 354, 355. 
208. 

151, 192, 205. 
234, 330, 331, 334. 
122, 306, 328. 
133, 163, 166, 342, 

346. 



129, 157. 

1,20. 

6, 20, 87, 353. 

2, 8, 17, 22. 

3, 175. 
44, 94. 

152, 205, 328. 

8, 91. 

93, 293. 

64, 72, 267. 

151, 188, 191, 228. 

122,161, 308. 

41, 69, 74, 252, 260, 

282, 357. 
216, 261, 338. 
30, 243, 338. 
5, 42, 68, 75, 84, 266, 

300, 357. 



362 



Page of Statement. 

147, 

9, 11, 27, 

9,11, 

97, 105, 106, 171,. 

9, 68, 123, 151,... 

100, 104,... 

124, 

95, 122, 

58, 61, 94, 152, . . . 

107, 

126, 

24, 135, 136, 

124, 

39, 

20, 22, 24, 37, 43, 
73, 146, 

31, 36, 69, 131, 132, 

4, 28, 173, 

29, 55, 68, 146, 159, 

37, 55, 

69, 131,137, 

5, 8, 9, 23, 27, 34, 
126, 147, 

93, 

5, 8, 9, 23, 

91, 93, 

40, 143, 

23, 32, 45, 

9,154, 

25, 32, 

72, 85, 

83, 

36, 73, 138, 

11, 

114,116, 

88, 91, 

124, 

81,3 36, 137, 140, . 

1-173, 

10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 
18,19,20,21,22, 
23, 26, 28, 29, 30, 
33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 
38,39,40,41,42.44, 
46, 47, 48, 66, 68, 
69, 130, 131, 145, 
149, 151, 163. 

81, 132, 

93, 

See "Falsification 
of documents." 



Contributions by Dr. Gould, 

Corning Clock, 

Corning, Hon. Erastus, 

Council, Scientific, character of, 

elected, 

investigation of the charges 
expelled by vote, 

functions, 

meetings, 

protest, July 2, 

used to obtain donations, . . 

Crane, Ingenious, 

D. 

Defence by Scientific Council, 

Delavan House, bill at, 

Delays, 

Demands upon Trustees, 

De Witt, Mr. W. H., 

Directorship, 

Dissatisfaction of Trustees, 

Dome of Observatory, 

Donations, 

Dudley, Mrs,, 

donations, 

letters to Trustees, and reply, . . 

le#ter to Council, and reply, . . . 

Dwelling house, 

E. 

Endowment, 

European voyage, 

Everett, Hon. E., 

Executive Committee, 

supposed, 

Expense incurred by Dr. Gould, 

of apparatus for time, 

of European journey, 

of longitude determination, 

Expulsion voted, of Director, 

of Scientific Council, .... 
Extravagance, wasteful, 

F. 

Falsehoods of Accusers, 

Falsification of documents, 



Finances, 

Forgery, moral 
real, . 



Page of Reply. 

4, 106, 117. 

154,188,191,211,212. 

93, 188. 

48, 300, 301. 

4, 45, 164, 181. 

1, 21, 299, 304, 312. 

7, 83, 84, 90, 268, 

303. 
45, 90, 182. 

6, 73, 83, 269, 299. 

7, 312. 

36, 107, 183, 210, 

223, 227, 258. 
325, 331. 



7, 84, 87, 304, 314. 
237. 

109, 116, 165, 206, 
219, 231, 235, 246, 
279, 281,283, 305. 

81, 317. 

15. 

6, 50, 113, 114, 214, 
218, 338. 

5. 

27, 277, 326. 

177, 185, 188, 214, 
227. 

177, 297. 

177, 185. 

84, 296, 298, 351. 

84, 352. 

78, 99, 216, 333, 336, 
337. 



6, 35, 47, 58, 62, 105, 

209, 223, 351. 
4, 49, 106, 189. 
31, 225. 

6, 7, 21, 79. 
9. 

4, 117. 

153. 

49, 190, 354, 355. 

61, 78, 121, 124, 147, 

306. 
4, 17, 164, 303. 

7, 84, 268, 303. 

29, 55, 109, 153, 164, 
205,222,226, 287, 
329. 

25. 

23, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 
36, 68, 156, 193, 
195, 196, 199, 201, 
204, 205, 215, 216, 
221, 224, 230, 231, 
232, 235, 238, 241, 
242, 244, 249, 252, 
273, 316, &g. &c. 

178, 286. 

29, 177, 297. 

23, 29, 30, 68, 156, 
195,201,205, 215, 
216, 224, 230, 235, 
241, 249, 252, 272, 
316, Ac, &c. 



363 



Page of Statement 



12, 16, 130, 

24, 109, ' 

79, 

36, 43, 

22, 37, 43, 56, 72, 
85, 109, 146, 

50, 65, 

74, 86, 

108, 111, 

52, 73, 81, 

56, 90, 

83, 

30, 38, 81, 136, 140, 

141, 

136, 

161, 163, 

63, 79, 83, 

24, 35, 37, 43, 46, 

48, 50, 56, 59, 60, 

73, 110, 
45, 56, 109,111, .. 
43, 47, 50, 

39, 145, 

73, 77, 78, 79, 86, . 

65, 

42, 47, 60, 

106, 170, 

52, 163, 

50, 79, 

35, 51, 62, 63, 81, 

158, 

62, 135, 136, 

108, 111, 113, .... 

65,80, 

HI, 

10, 12, 19, 24, 34, 

35, 37, 38, 43, 44, 
52, 56, 65, 109, 

84, 170, 

84, 140, 

52, 65,69, 140, 160, 
27, 50, 62, 145,... 

75, 83, 

65, 

22, 111, 

63, 87, 

9,12,16,17,19,21, 

27, 33, 

40, 146, 

157, 

142, 

164, 

63, 83, 87, 

88, 

63, 

173, 

7, 

10, 14, 15, 26, .... 

128, 

7, 

59, 



G. 

Garbling, see "Falsification of documents, : 

Gavit, Mr. J. E., voyage to Europe, 

letter, 

Glories, 

Gould, B. A., Jr., 

alleged arrogance and assumption, 

avidity, 

delays, 

denunciations, 

discourtesy, 

dishonesty, 

disingenuousness, 

dismissal, 

effrontery, 

extravagance, 

folly, 

hostility to astronomers, 

humiliation, 

inactivity, 

incompetency, 

inefficiency, 

ingratitude, 

insolence, 

irascibility and intemperance, . 

jealousy, 

lawlessness, 

mental habitudes, 

misconduct, 

misrepresentations, 

particularity, 

peculation, 

pedantry, 

procrastination, 

promises, 

pugnacity, 

recklessness, 

slandering and maligning, 

untruthfulness, 

vindictiveness, 

vituperation, 

want of experience, 

want of Harmony, 

attempts to embroil him, 

Gratuity for Astronomical Journal, 

to Olcott, 

to Pistor and Martins, 

H. 

Hague, Mr. W. W., 

Hamilton College, 

Harmony, declaration of want of, 

consequences of want of, 

importance of, 

promotion of, 

Harris, Hon. Ira, 

Heliometer, account of, 

order for, . 

promised, 

utility of, 

Henry, Prof. Joseph, 



Page of Reply. 

26, 166, 353. 

198, 203, 316, 354. 

354. 

112, 118, 211. 

89. 

4, 49, 61, 113. 

109, 116, 165, 207, 
219, 231,234, 246, 
279, 281, 283, 305. 

73,258,260,266,272. 

18, 19, 87, 237, 284. 

120. 

234. 

4, 300. 

55. 

29,'l09,153,164,205, 
222, 226, 289, 329. 

48. 

162, 181, 345. 
67, 120, 238, 286. 
219, 220, 246, 251, 

256, 270. 

116, 204, 249, 305. 

159. 

237, 238. 

89, 101-4. 

67. 

245, 255, 265. 

168, 303. 

114, 162, 345. 

67. 

123, 228, 307. 

322. 

116, 305. 
67. 

55, 116, 119. 
44,110,118,157,195, 
211,232. 

358. 

323, 329. 
67, 262. 
43, 154, 213. 
292. 

20, 73, 259, 266, 272. 
119, 249. 
6, 76, 83, 311. 
181, 192, 198, 201, 
205, 208, 225,331. 

163, 238. 
214. 
343. 



263, 287, 331, 332. 

75, 231, 327. 

6, 83, 87, 100, 293. 

12, 14, 58, 77, 163. 

12. 

17, 60, 76, 80-82. 

2, 10, 13, 16, 18, 100, 

304. 
148, 356. 

50, 149,196,212, 355. 
40. 

40, 95, 178. 
176, 271, 302. 



364 



Page of Statement 

3-6, 

7-55, 

55-173, 

142, 

153, 

24-27, 

45, 56, 109, 111... 
73, 74, 

17, 



95, 99, 106, 124, 
171, 

79, 

23, 91, 

101, 107, 

164, 

113, 158, 

70, 

117, 

114, 116, 

91, 109, 113, 

4, 68, 173, 

57, 61, 64, 70, 85, 
89, 123, 

>j2 75 

58', 61,' 94, 100, 1*52*, 

129, 

55,... 

9, 

20, 26, 155, 

154, 155, 

3, 5, 6, 81, 118, 

124, 168, 

168, 

56, 63, 72, 

22, 

69, 

6, 18, 81, 137, .... 

3, 4, 5, 8, 23, 31, 
35, 63, 87, 91, 
101, Ac, 

26, 

41, 148, 

53, 55, 



History, previous to August, 1855, 

from August, 1855, to January, 1858. 

since January, 1858, 

Hodgins, Mr. William, 



I. 



Inadvertence, 

Inauguration, 

Incompetency, 

Insults to visiters, 

Invitations, to Amer. Association, 
to Inauguration, .... 



J. 



Johnson, M. J., Esq. 



L. 



Legal Relations, . 



Letter, of Hon. J. V. L. Pruyn, 

Dr. Gould's, of May 31, 

Letters, of Mrs. Dudley, 

of Council, 

publication of confidential, 

to Astronomische Nachrichten, 
Longitude, arrangement for determining, . 

determination of, 

expense of determining, 



M. 

Manifesto of Mr. Olcott, 



March, Dr. A., 

Meetings, of Trustees, 



of Exec. Committee, 

of Council, 

of citizens, 

Memorial from citizens, 

Meridian Circle, 

account and use of, 

description of, 

name of, 

peculiarities of, 



Mitchel, Prof. 0. M., 

Motives, 

Mounting the instruments, 

Mutilation, see e Falsification of documents. 



N. 

Name of Observatory, . . 
Newspaper attacks, . . . . 



0. 



Observatory, Building, 

true objects of, 



Olcott, Mr. T. W., , 

character, and relations with, , 



comet, 

conferences with, 

demands appointment of Peters, 



Page of Reply. 

176. 

36. 

70. 

54, 108, 278, 330. 



339. 

54, 199, 200, 210. 

116, 204, 249, 305. 

87, 104, 283. 

162, 199, 202, 354. 

161, 185, 199, 202. 



97, 136, 356. 



167-173, 268, 357. 

64, 72. 
88 285 

84' 296,'298, 351,352. 
351, 352. 
9, 23, 176, 347. 
344. 

61, 78, 146. 
120, 145, 306. 
61, 78, 121, 124, 147, 
306. 



1, 6, 20, 34, 83, 87, 
100, 304, 353. 

14. 

6, 7, 66, 79, 83, 87, 
100, 271, 279, 293, 
295, 313. 

80, 285. 

6, 7,73,83,269.299. 

8, 92. 

64, 72, 267. 

50, 186, 205, 340. 

125, 130. 

129, 143, 157. 

187, 205. 

129, 134, 166, 340. 

37,39,105,163,179,345 

47, 86, 358. 

280. 



34, 209. 

3, 58, 67, 77, 81, 101, 
113, 276. 

29, 51, 104, 204, 330. 
44, 94. 



8, 10, 177, 210, 302. 
3, 11, 12, 13, 21, 80, 

112, 295, 358. 
243. 

58, 62, 77. 
5, 59, 62, 70, 76, 278, 



365 



Page of Statement. 

3,4,27, 

70, 

63, , 

55, 63, 

83, 



108, 111, 113, .... 
5, 7, 9, 51, 61, 118, 
127, 

7, 20, 41, 47, 147, 
164, 



54, 57, 138, 

106, 171, 

134, 135, 

21, 134, 

82, 

62, 

4, 

85, 103, 

7,133, 

102, 

172, 

55, 63, 68, 

107, 

127-130, 

75, 79, 129, 173, .. 

150, 

150, 

74,79, 

12, 

173, 

28, 30, 173, 

63, 68, 152, 

69, 

51, 61, 138, 

54, 95,100,102,107, 

>j2 77 

57', 68,' 71, 87, 90J 

123, 151, 
12, 45, 



79, 

106, 171, 
171, .... 
137, .... 

143-145, 
15, 26, .. 

15, 17,.. 
173, .... 
167, .... 



donations, 

elected President, , 

proposes compact of Dec. 19 

propositions of, 

Outlays by Dr. Gould, 

P. 

Peculation, 1 

Peirce, Prof. B., 

Perversions by Accusers, Examples 
Peters, Dr. C. H. F., 



appointed an Observer, 

Peters, Prof. C. A. F., 

Physical Force, 

Pier, rejection of, 

Piers for instruments, 

Plans, prospective, 

marring of, 

Prentice, Mr. E. P., 

Pretexts, 

Proposition, alleged, of Prof. Bache, 

of Council for conciliation, 

of donors for reference, ... , 

of Mr. Olcott, 

Protest of Council, July 2d, 

Pruyn, Mr. J. V. L., 

Pruyn, Mr. R. H., 

bills, 

drills, 

visits, 

R. 

Railroad, N. Y. Central, 

Ransom, Mr. S. H., 

Rathbone, Mr. J. F., 

Ratification of compact, 

Removal to Albany, 

Report to Council, 

Resolutions of citizens, 

of Council, 

of Exec. Committee, 

of Trustees, 

Revenue, 

s. 

Scheuts, Messrs., 

Scientific Council, see * Council,' 

Searle, Mr. George, 

Sentinel, repels invasion, 

■walks upon a post, 

Shutters, 

Side-issues, 

Smith, Mr. Benj . Franklin, 

Spencer, Mr. C. A., contract for Heliometer 

letter, , 

voyage to Europe, 

" Statement " of Trustees, authorship, 

character, . 

Summary, , 



Page of Reply. 

176, 214. 

6, 10, 79. 

5, 60, 68, 71, 

60, 68, 71. 

4, 106, 117, 291. 



116, 120, 305. 
176, 261. 

31, 34. 

5, 31,41,57, 73,205, 

206, 236, 248, 255, 

258, 259, 265, 306, 

348. 
64, 260, 268, 329. 
31, 229. 

303, 314, 356, 358. 
54, 322. 

54, 126, 207, 322. 
289. 

53, 108. 
66, 176. 
75, 85, 88, 99. 
4, 40, 142, 146, 178, 

179, 222, 320. 
311. 
349. 

60, 68, 71. 
7, 312. 

40, 64, 93, 179,315. 
16, 18, 85, 123, 163, 

241, 277,292. 
18,278,326,328,339. 
126,339. 
82, 86, 99, 102, 283, 

284, 285. 



115, 155, 191. 

14. 

10, 15,140,222,281. 

42, 68, 69, 72, 74. 
6, 61, 74, 78, 277. 
71, 102, 261,329. 
92. 
312. 

82, 100, 285. 

83, 274, 313. 

110, 112, 115, 155, 

196. 



138. 

142, 160. 

303. 

303. 

51, 107, 326. 

161. 

332. 

149, 212, 355. 

354. 

198, 203, 355. 

2, 8, 17. 

2, 8, 18, 22. 

163. 



366 



Page of Statement. 

30, 72, 

33, 

46, 51, 

106, 

141, 

76, 79, 

63, 64, 

37, 43,59, 87,.... 
14, 15, 31, 35, 60, 
43,123,124,125,150 
24, 30, 43, 169, .. 

47, 

37, 55, 

60, 168, 

30, 38, 169, 

168, 170, 

93,126, 171, 

13, 24,168, 

45, 

136, 169,172, 

43, 74, 

72, 94, 171, 

79, 

34, 44, 72, 170, .. 

64, 76, 79, 91, 167, 

79, 

13, 16, 19, 24,27,. 

79, 

7, 26, 133, 

144, 

4, 70, 

173, 

157, • 

74, 79, 173, 

64, 

86, 

76,79, 

164, 



T. 

Tabulating Engine, 

Telegraph wire, 

"The Trustees," 

appeals of, 

astonishment of, 

averments of, 

character of, 

clearsightedness of, 

complaints of, 

confidence of, 

constraint of, 

disappointment of, 

dismay of, 

dissatisfaction of, 

disinterestedness of, 

errors of, 

fidelity of, 

gratitude of, 

hopes of, 

indignation of, 

modesty of, 

mortification of, 

pain of, 

respectability of, 

surprise of, 

truthfulness of, 

Tilton, Mr. McLane, 

Time signals, 

Toomer, Mr. J. H., 

Transit -Instrument, 

Turner, Messrs., 

y. 

Van Rensselaer, Gen. Stephen, 

Vosburgh, Mr. Isaac W., 

w. 

Walker, Prof. S. C, 

Wasteful Expenditures, 

see "Extravagance, wasteful, 

West, Gentleman from, 

Wickes, Mr. E., 

Wilder, Mr. John N., 

alleged speech of Jan. 19, 

" " of June 4, 

Winslow, Mr. A. E., 

Work done, 

astronomical, 

miscellaneous, 



Page of Revly. 

137, 220. 

156, 225. 

9. 

51, 226. 

219. 

9, 15, 329. 

12. 

184, 232, 261, 295. 

255. 

184. 

29, 247. 

211, 220, 247. 
255, 348. 
281. 

513. 

5, 286. 

58, 109,286, 295. 

90, 193, 211, 228. 

13,193, 209,211, 247. 

247, 251. 

212, 286. 
248. 

211, 252. 
285. 

156, 226, 247, 251. 
25,213,221,229,267, 

271, 273, 286. 
102, 160, 282. 
115, 151, 192, 194, 

196, 205, 226. 
62, 63, 72, 78, 102, 

160, 282. 
123, 142, 222, 320. 
323, 330, 331. 



10, 48, 66, 79, 91. 

100. 
14, 15. 



37, 310. 



343. 

66. 

6, 86, 99, 101, 274. 

66, 272, 273. 

100. 

102,160,215,282,284. 

4. 

157, 348. 

159. 



NOTE TO PAGE 16. 

Since the first copies of this Reply appeared, four or five days ago, I have been 
told that the first resolution of June 4 was offered by the President himself, and 
not I y the Honorable Ira Harris, as herein stated. 

It has, of course, been my desire to use the most scrupulous care that every 
assertion in this book should be, not only correct in its spirit and meaning, but 
punctitiously accurate to the very letter; and my information was derived from 
what I deemed the highest authority, specially consulted to ensure entire correct- 
ness. Immediately upon learning the possibility of error, I conferred with 
members of the minority, and am led to believe that, although my statement 
conveys to the reader a truthful idea of Judge Harris's course, and of his per- 
formance of the duty imposed upon him by Mr Olcott, yet the first motion 
was made by the President himself, — in the form of a resolution to refer the 
alleged want of Harmony to the Executive Committee with full power to act. 
This was at once advocated by Judge Harris, who drafted during the meeting 
several other resolutions varying in form, but agreeing in substance, and endeav- 
ored so to disguise their real intention as to secure their passage without opposi- 
tion. But it was distinctly understood that Judge Harris's object in all his efforts 
on this occasion was to bring about my immediate expulsion. 

Most of the edition not having yet left the binders' hands, I hasten to avail 
myself of the opportunity to make this correction. In one sense the inaccuracy 
is trivial, and conveys no wrong idea of Judge Harris's action. But I do not 
choose to imitate the example of those of my Accusers, who, though probably 
unaware at first of the extent of misrepresentation in the book to which they 
allowed their names to be subscribed, have countenanced the issue of thousands 
of copies after the misstatements had been demonstrated. 

1859, Feb. 2± B. A. G. 






'V* 



- ^> 






o 



"^ ^ 













: V#' 




W 



A 





\° °. 



0^ 






^ 












\ ^. 



^ ^ 



r * ^> 



■ 



,\~k v «2 s* 










<0 N 





** 



%/* ; 










^ -'*. 










































